Religion-focused laws threaten democracy
Religious tenets incorporated into laws are not laws, but rather an attempt to religiously control, turning an otherwise free nation into a far-right authoritarian theocracy.
This results in control of women, control of their bodies. This results in controlled forced birth, even if the woman or girl's life is in danger by doing so. This results in stripping the rights of gay Americans. Restricting them from marriage, restricting their job prospects, restricting where they can buy goods and services. This results in controlling or tampering with the votes of Americans who would vote against these religion-infused laws or the candidates who promote them.
Those who would control the rest of us will say their freedom of speech is being controlled. They are free to express their disapproval of abortion, gay sexual orientations, etc. But it becomes dangerous when their control is incorporated into law, as we saw with the overturning of Roe. It is dangerous when these same forces would control the voting process, as we saw in Georgia. It is dangerous when these forces attempt to thwart the orderly transfer of power, as we saw on Jan. 6, 2021.
If left unchecked, gay marriage will be overturned next, followed by interracial marriage. Then what? Control of where one can sit on a bus or a lunch counter based on color?
The gradual supplanting of freedom with religion-infused control of Americans must be checked or the great democratic experiment will fail.
Louis S. Guagenti
Arlington Heights