Let me bring up again something that I think I mentioned earlier. Say that in the state of Kennessee, death warrants have to be filed in a county clerk's office together with a county clerk's "acknowledgment of filing of death warrant" form, and by statute that acknowledgment form has to include the county clerk's name (though not her signature).
Say that Jane Smith, a county clerk, believes that the death penalty is murder, and thus a grave sin. She also believes that complicity with the death penalty is itself sinful. She realizes, though, that everyone in society is in some measure connected with everything - through paying taxes, through providing staple goods and services (such as selling the paper on which a death warrant will be printed), and so on. That is especially so of government employees and officials. So, after reflection, prayer, and fasting, she concludes that it would be permissible for her office to file the death warrant, but that having her name on an acknowledgement of a warrant authorizing a man's killing would be unacceptable complicity. This is purely symbolic, of course, but she thinks this symbolism matters to God, just as symbolism matters in many other contexts to many other people. She goes to state court, arguing that under the state RFRA, she should be allowed to have her office file the warrants with a form that excludes her name. Why wouldn't that be a standard, relatively straightforward application of the state RFRA? There is indeed a compelling government interest in making sure that the democratically authorized death penalty is implemented, notwithstanding the objection of one elected official. But the requirement that the clerk have her office file documents with her name isn't necessary to serving that compelling interest; a court order stating that, under the state RFRA, the clerk can have her office file the documents without her name included, would make clear that the documents without the name are valid. The compelling government interest is served. The religious objector's religious beliefs, however unreasonable some might view them as being, are satisfied. Isn't that precisely what state RFRAs are supposed to do? (Of course, I realize that many people have a very different view of the morality of the death penalty and of same-sex marriage - but I take it that those differences shouldn't affect the state RFRA analysis.) Eugene
_______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
