'Pastor protection' bill fails

BATON ROUGE —- Pastors will not get an extra level of First Amendment protection after the Senate Judiciary B committee voted 3-2 Tuesday to kill House Bill 597, called the Pastor Protection Act, by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City.
Johnson said the bill looked to address a problem created by the 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage across the country. He said pastors in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Florida are being forced to solemnize same-sex marriages which they do not believe in.
The legislation is modeled on legislation already passed in Texas, Florida and other states and currently working their way through the legislatures of Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio and others, Johnson said.
“It offers a basic level of protection for the fundamental right of conscience that all citizens should agree is essential to all of us, as human beings,” Johnson said. He said it was aimed at eliminating the possibility of a church’s tax exempt status being withheld if it was perceived to be discriminatory in exercising its religious beliefs.
Sen. JP Morrell, D-New Orleans, pointed out no court in Louisiana has tried to force a pastor to solemnize a same-sex marriage.
Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans ,agreed. “We have laws on the books that give the ministers and clergy the freedom to do what they (want to do)” she said. “Louisiana does not impede into people’s religious freedoms.”
Quoting the U.S. Solicitor General, Johnson argued the law is necessary since the Obergefell decision called into question whether religious organizations could lose tax exempt status for being perceived as discriminatory.
Morrell amended the bill to remove a protection for individuals employed by a church or religious organization.
“It is the ‘anybody who happens to be employed by a church’ act,” Morrell said. “I’s overkill … it’s over-overkill.”
Stephen Perry, president of New Orleans Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, opposed the bill, raising concerns about the potential impact it could have on the state’s current reputation as a “progressive” southern state. He speculated the state could lose millions if the bill passed.
Peterson initially moved to kill the bill, but was interrupted by Sen. Greg Tarver, D-Shreveport, who moved to report the bill favorably with Morrell’s amendment. That attempt failed 2-3. Peterson’s motion to keep the bill in committee then passed 3-2.
After the bill failed, Rev. Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, suggested to those assembled in support of the bill that Sen. Ronnie Johns, R-Lake Charles, absented himself from the committee meeting to guarantee the measure would fail.
They then prayed for Johnson before his next committee meeting.
Johnson said he wouldn’t bring the bill back this session, but left open the possibility it might return next year.