Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Do Hobby Lobby skeptics have a problem with what Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang region are doing to weaken Islam?
It is being reported that "Chinese authorities have ordered Muslim shopkeepers and restaurant owners in a village in its troubled Xinjiang region to sell alcohol and cigarettes, and promote them in 'eye-catching displays,' in an attempt to undermine Islam’s hold on local residents."
Taking as given the reported governmental purpose, this government action in the United States would not only violate RFRA (if engaged in by the federal government) but also the First Amendment (if engaged in by any governmental actor). Yet Hobby Lobby skeptics seem committed to the idea that for-profit entities cannot engage in a (statutorily or constitutionally) protected exercise of religion.
Surely a story like this one would cause them to rethink their legal analysis, right?
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2015/05/do-hobby-lobby-skeptics-have-a-problem-with-what-chinese-authorities-in-the-xinjiang-region-are-doin.html