Bush Tries to Exempt Religious Groups From Discrimination Laws
Remember Bush's State of the Union speech in which he promised huge dollars for drug treatment -- provided by religious groups? Or his "faith-based" initiative in 2000 that mercifully died? Well, he's not giving up. But he's delusional if he thinks his new plan will get through Congress.
Bush is trying to get Congress to exempt religious groups from adhering to anti-discrimination laws on hiring policies. In other words, he is seeking to allow religious groups to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and religion when hiring.
A White House position paper sent to Capitol Hill argues that "religious hiring rights" are part of religious organizations' civil rights. "When they receive federal funds, they should retain their right to hire those individuals who are best able to further their organizations' goals and mission," the document says.
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