[WS:] You are kidding, right? Since when the bill of rights prevented numerous instances of discrimination of unpopular minorities in this country? Slavery, Jim Crow, internment of citizens of the Japanese ancestry during WW2, McCarthyism, union busting, discrimination of same sex couples - the list is long - all of which are unconstituional but none of which were impeded in any way by the bill of rights.
Bill of rights is just a piece of paper that may be evoked to protect the rights of the mainstream majority or some powerful minorities, but if you are a powerless and unpopular minority you can pretty much hang it on your bathroom wall.
Wojtek
On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 12:37 PM, Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 2 Dec 2009, Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> I wonder if such a referendum would pass in the U.S.
>>
>
> It seems pretty obviously unconstitutional. When you're a religious
> minority in a democracy, it's nice to have a bill of rights. And it has
> very deep roots on that particular question. I think even our wackiest right
> wing religious types would have a hard time pushing it without feeling guilt
> that they were oppressing a religious minority. They have no trouble
> supporting harassment of muslims, don't get me wrong. But attacking their
> churches, I think that make would most of them feel uncomfortably in the
> wrong.
>
> Michael
>
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