‘Religious freedom’ bill headed to Iowa Gov. Reynolds’ desk

DES MOINES — A bill Republicans say will strengthen protections for religious expressions in Iowa that Democrats contend would give legal cover to discriminate against LGTBQ Iowans and others is headed to Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk.

Iowa House Republicans on Thursday voted 61-33 to approve Senate File 2095, referred to by supporters as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The bill now heads to the governor for her expected signature.

“Twenty-three states around the country, with both Republican and Democrat governors, have passed similar laws. Now, it’s Iowa’s turn,” Reynolds said in a statement.

Under the bill, state and local government shall not "substantially burden" someone's exercise of religion unless it is in furtherance of a compelling government interest and must be narrowly tailored in the least restrictive means of pursuing that interest.

A person, corporation, church, foundation or other entity whose exercise of religion has been burdened would have the power to go to court to seek damages, injunctive relief or other means of redressing the harm against them.

The bill defines exercise of religion as action "substantially motivated by one's sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."

Two dozen states have passed religious freedom laws

Supporters say the bill is needed because, in their view, U.S. Supreme Court rulings have eroded religious freedom protections that were passed into federal law in 1993 by a Democrat-majority Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

"People of faith and our places of worship are facing more and more government intrusion into their rights to worship consistent with their beliefs,“ said Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, lead sponsor of a companion bill in the House.

“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects the religious liberty of every American, every Iowan, regardless of their religion or lifestyle,” Holt said. “It is not a sword, or a shield. It is good policy for everyone” that “guarantees that everyone gets a fair day in court when the government intrudes in one of our most sacred freedoms.”

The federal law applies only to the federal government, but at least two dozen states have passed state-level versions of the legislation.

The Iowa House debated the proposed legislation for two hours before approving on party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

Democrats: States with similar laws report LGBTQ, housing discrimination

Democrats warned that such a law would lead to state-sanctioned discrimination, using religious freedom as a defense.

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Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, a Presbyterian pastor, introduced an amendment that would have inserted into the bill protections against discrimination as prescribed in the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

The amendment aims to restore the original purpose of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act while preventing its misuse to erode civil rights and sidestep non-discrimination laws, James said.

The proposed amendment was defeated along party lines.

“We have seen some good applications of RFRA throughout the years,” James said. “ … Unfortunately, many of these state-level RFRA have expanded and misapplied original intent to RFRA to allow the religious belief of one to violate the civil liberties of another. … Without this amendment, we will be voting on a bill that legalizes discrimination, and that weaponizes religious beliefs to justify discrimination.”

House Democrats cited instances of LGBTQ+ discrimination and examples of employment discrimination and denial of reproductive health care in states that have passed similar laws.

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“Although the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was originally intended to protect religious liberty, it has been misused to cause harm, to discriminate and to deny people health care,” said Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City. “It’s been exploited to allow employers to ignore laws that protect workers and denying people access to, for example, HIV prevention medication

“These bad faith interpretations which push the law far beyond its original intended purpose most often cause harm to queer people.“

Others said the bill would undermine inclusivity, and harm Iowa's economy, making it harder for Iowa businesses to recruit workers from out of state and retain current residents.

Some business groups oppose the bill; religious groups support it

Several business groups and chambers of commerce were registered opposed to the bill, including Krause Group, the Technology Association of Iowa, Principal Financial Group and the Iowa Chamber Alliance.

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Holt, the bill’s floor manager, called the arguments against the bill “hyperbolic” and misinformed.

Holt said the bill protects religious freedom in a narrow way and requires a balancing test by courts when evaluating restrictions on religious freedom.

"A compelling government interest narrowly tailored would not produce these nightmare scenarios that we’ve heard tonight,“ he said. ”It’s a balancing test … as it should be for one of our most fundamental rights in the Constitution of the United States.“

Versions of Iowa Republicans’ religious freedom bill have been introduced annually since at least 2018. This is the first time the bill has passed the Iowa Legislature.

Christian conservative and religious groups registered in support of the bill include The Family Leader, Iowa Faith and Freedom Coaltion, Iowa Catholic Conference and Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church.

“Religious freedom is one of our country’s most fundamental rights. Religious freedom is already protected” under the Iowa and U.S. constitutions, Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said in a statement.

“There is no rationale for legislation that misuses religious freedom as a means to justify discrimination against others,” Ryan said. “No person should be allowed to use their faith to impose their beliefs on another person, or to take away their rights.”

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