Religious liberty and freedom of conscience have taken a lot of hits in recent years. So it was refreshing to see them win big recently at the Supreme Court.
The justices declined to hear a legal challenge against a Mississippi law that protects citizens, small businesses, government employees, and charities from official discrimination by government if they believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.
The Mississippi law benefits people on both sides of the marriage debate. When a government can punish one group of citizens for dissenting from cultural orthodoxy, it can punish any group for any belief.
In declining to hear a case against Mississippi's Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act (HB 1523), the Supreme Court let stand the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal's decision in the face of challenges by the ACLU and Lambda Legal.
Now a year after HB 1523 was passed, Mississippians know they are free to live according to their religious beliefs about marriage without fear of losing their livelihoods.
It's a victory in a battle that never should have happened in the first place. HB 1523 was a direct response to the threat of anti-religious discrimination after the Supreme Court redefined marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.
In the two and a half years since Obergefell, activists, local and state governments, and federal authorities have treated the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman with contempt.
Billionaire LGBT activist Tim Gill pledged to "punish the wicked." Delivering upon his threat, government authorities have denied citizens across the country the right to live in accordance with their beliefs about marriage.
Members of numerous professions, including entertainment, counseling, emergency services, technology, farming, and the military, have been demoted or terminated from their jobs because of their beliefs about marriage.
The government also has targeted religious non-profit organizations. Illinois, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia stopped contracting with faith-based adoption agencies because they would place children only with married moms and dads.
Legislators in Mississippi responded to this wave of anti-religious discrimination by passing HB 1523. The bill protects individual citizens, public servants, businesses, and religious institutions from being penalized by the government for belief in traditional marriage.
But the ACLU and Lambda Legal sued on behalf of clients who claimed to be harmed by the law. Last June, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the plaintiffs had no standing because they failed to demonstrate that the law would violate their rights in any way.
The Supreme Court was right to leave the lower court's decision intact.
These protections shouldn't be controversial. Justice Anthony Kennedy reiterated his call for tolerance of disagreement on marriage during oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the case of a Colorado cake artist whose belief in traditional marriage drew intense ire from state officials.
Admonishing Colorado's state solicitor general, he stated that "tolerance is essential in a free society. And tolerance is most meaningful when it's mutual."
If federal, state, and local authorities would heed Kennedy's call for tolerance and respect in Obergefell and Masterpiece, laws like HB 1523 would not be needed.
But as more and more Americans are forced to choose between their job and their conscience, both state legislatures and Congress should promptly protect citizens from the new wave of government discrimination.
State laws such as HB 1523 and federal legislation such as the First Amendment Defense Act would ensure that the government cannot put anyone out of work for their beliefs about marriage.
Furthermore, what's at stake here extends far beyond the marriage debate. If the government can wield its power to silence opinions it disfavors, then everyone is at risk of being punished for holding the "wrong" opinions.
The residents of Mississippi are fortunate that their legislators got it right with HB 1523. Now, Americans in all 50 states need courageous leaders to stand up for their rights, too.