Civil and Human Rights Coalition Condemns Missouri Anti-LGBT Religious Freedom Bill

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to the Missouri Senate’s passage of SR-39, a bill that would allow discrimination against LGBT individuals on faith grounds. Last month, The Leadership Conference Education Fund released a report documenting how religious exemptions are being used to deny civil and human rights:

“Religious liberty is a sacred American ideal enshrined in our Constitution, not a justification to discriminate. Missouri’s bill is just one of many being pushed across America that uses the language of religious freedom as a false flag to sanction discrimination against the LGBT community.

These shameful attempts to deny LGBT individuals full equality are disturbing reminders of how religious arguments have been used to oppose the abolition of slavery, racial integration, women’s suffrage, and other social justice movements. We should learn from our nation’s history and not allow the concept of religious freedom to be corrupted by those opposed to equality.”

Click here to read Striking a Balance: Advancing Civil and Human Rights While Preserving Religious Liberty.

Wade Henderson is president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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