National Black Justice Coalition Applauds Re-Introduction of the Do No Harm Act
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
WASHINGTON, DC — Moments ago, Reps. Bobby Scott, Steve Cohen, Jamie Raskin, and Mary Gay Scanlon re-introduced the Do No Harm Act.
The Do No Harm Act clarifies that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is intended to protect religious freedom without inflicting harm on other people. The bill prevents RFRA from being used to deny (1) goods or services the government has contracted, granted, or made an agreement to provide to a beneficiary; or (2) a person’s full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation.
In reaction to the introduction, David J. Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black LGBTQ+/SGL people, including people living with HIV/AIDS, issued the following statement:
“The Do No Harm Act re-asserts the constitutional balance of civil rights and religious freedom in the U.S and is critically important now, given the actions by state legislatures allowing exemptions to civil rights laws based on one’s subjective ‘moral convictions.’ The Act affirms the belief that no one should be the victim of bias, discrimination, or hate crimes and those harms should not be hidden or dismissed. If anyone can be exempted from following civil rights laws, everyone can be exempted from following them.”
