Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

October 2019 – Legislation called the Do Not Harm Act (DNHA) was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 13, 2017. Brought by Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) and Bobby Scott (D-VA), this act is aimed at weakening the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which established in 1993 that the government cannot place burdens on religious exercises without justification.

It failed, but on February 28, 2019, Democrats reintroduced DNHA in the House of Representatives. Its proponents argue that RFRA has been used to afflict minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community, and that the proposed act would ensure RFRA does not permit discrimination in the name of religion. DNHA support groups include Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the NAACP, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and others.

However, advocates of religious freedom purport that RFRA only provides necessary protections for people of faith, and that DNHA “would cut very important religious freedom protections for countless Americans,” according to Matt Sharp, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom. The bill is currently before a
House subcommittee.

nbcnews.com, 3/1/19; cbn.com, 7/31/19; congress.gov