The Texas Legislature is rapidly moving forward with SB 17, the Project Blitz bill that aims to codify religious privilege and allow licensed professionals to dodge their obligations and responsibilities under the guise of religious liberty.
Under SB 17, dozens of professional categories, from health care workers and counselors to lawyers and real estate agents, would be allowed to deny services based on their religious beliefs. For example, pharmacists may be able to refuse to fill a birth control prescription if doing so contradicts their religious convictions, or real estate agents may be able to refuse to sell a house to a gay couple.
SB 17 is part of Project Blitz, the Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy and must tirelessly defend.
This bill passed the Texas Senate last week and now will be considered by the House State Affairs Committee. Please remind the representatives on the committee that religious liberty does not constitute a license to discriminate and urge them to vote no on SB 17.
