Latest news with #RFRA
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Federal judge sides with a Utah religion that uses ‘magic mushrooms,' citing new state law
PROVO, Utah () — A U.S. District Court Judge recently ruled in favor of a Utah faith group that is known for using psychedelic mushrooms. On Nov. 11, 2024, Bridger Lee Jensen, founder of the religious group Singularism, was searched and detained at the faith's 'spiritual center' by officers with Provo City Police Department, court documents show. Undercover officers posed as individuals interested in the faith in order to obtain information about the members' use of psilocybin, commonly known as 'magic mushrooms.' 'The judge has recognized this for what it is. It's retaliatory charges that came in bad faith,' Jensen told ABC4. One week after the search, Jensen filed a lawsuit against Utah County and Provo City claiming police violated the faith's constitutional rights of exercising sincere religious beliefs under the First Amendment. Jensen says the county weaponized the criminal justice system to shut down his religious group. 'I just want the same freedoms that… I am afforded by the constitution.' Singularism frequently use 'sacramental psilocybin' as part of spiritual ceremonies. The group's website details its mission to provide a 'sacred space where science and spirituality unite.' Many of the faith's practicing members say they found the faith looking for healing from trauma. 'We integrate the profound potency of psilocybin, a revered entheogenic substance with long standing religious use, into our own ceremonies as a means to facilitate deep spiritual connections,' the website reads. The faith cited a 2024 state law, which gave additional protections to religious groups, when claiming their right to use magic mushrooms. New state law , which went into effect on May 1, 2024, prohibits the government from 'burdening a person's free exercise of religion,' adding further protection for faith groups. The law further details instances when such a burden is warrant saying it must be essential to 'furthering a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.' In the ruling, the court found that Jensen properly brought the RFRA law before the court, citing the county imposed a 'substantial burden' on sincere religious exercise. Jensen says Singularism is the first to use the RFRA law in defense of religious practices, claiming the group is also the first to be granted the right to use magic mushrooms. 'We have the right to do what we are doing.' Utah County and Provo City recently filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing the Utah Controlled Substances Act. However, the motion was denied by U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish, who also issued an order ceasing further proceedings in the case, granting Jensen's motion to restrain his criminal case. ABC4 reached out to Provo City for a statement, but declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. Setting precedent 'We were really thankful for support from the court,' Jensen said following the ruling. 'We've just been looking to solve this the whole time and make peace.' Final judgment in the case is still pending in the court, but Jensen says he's optimistic about what the ruling means for other religious groups. 'When you protect the religious freedoms of one religion, you protect the freedoms of all of them,' he said. Latest headlines: Miss United States accuses GOP Rep. Cory Mills of threatening to release explicit videos of her School Guardian Program: State security chief explains Utah's newest approach to security and safety Utah debates in limbo as Utah Debate Commission founder exits blasting GOP Federal judge sides with a Utah religion that uses 'magic mushrooms,' citing new state law The longest winning streak in baseball history happened in SLC, and is now a film Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
The Hill
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Supreme Court to consider if forcibly shaven inmate can seek damages
The Supreme Court took up Monday a case on whether a former Louisiana inmate can receive damages from prison officials for forcibly shaving his dreadlocks despite his Rastafari beliefs. A lower court 'emphatically' condemned Damon Landor's treatment but said the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) provided no pathway for him to sue the officials for damages in their individual capacities. Backed by the Trump administration, Landor hopes the Supreme Court will rule the other way, allowing him and other inmates to get compensation when their religious liberty rights are violated. The case is set to be considered during the Supreme Court's next annual term. Oral arguments are likely to be set during the late fall or winter, with a decision expected by next summer. It follows a unanimous 8-0 decision the court issued in 2020 finding that RLUIPA's sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), allows for damages suits. But RFRA only applies to the federal government. RLUIPA applies to state officials, and it is specifically aimed at protecting religious rights in land regulations and prisons. The statute only allows substantial burdens on someone's religious exercise if the government demonstrates it furthers a compelling governmental interest, and its action is the least restrictive means to do so. 'The denial of a damages remedy to vindicate RLUIPA's substantive protections would undermine that important purpose. And the circumstances precluding relief here are not unique,' Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in court filings. Landor's attorneys at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Casey Denson Law agreed, saying the widespread implications merit the court's review. 'More than one million people are incarcerated in state prisons and local jails. Under the prevailing rule in the circuit courts, those individuals are deprived of a key remedy crucial to obtaining meaningful relief,' the petition reads. The Republican-controlled Louisiana attorney general's office, however, takes the opposite view. In court papers, the state acknowledged Landor's story is 'antithetical to religious freedom and fair treatment of state prisoners' and insisted it has changed its prison grooming policy to ensure it doesn't happen again. But the state believes RLIUPA doesn't provide the damages pathway that Landor seeks, stressing that RLIUPA relies on a different part of the Constitution than the other statute. 'Serious consequences would flow from Petitioner's view, if adopted,' the state wrote. 'For example, the current staffing shortage in state prisons would only grow worse if current staff and potential job applicants learned that they would be personally liable for money damages.' The Supreme Court meanwhile declined to take up a second, near-identical case arising from a devout Hindu who was wrongfully convicted of sexual abuse. Sanjay Tripathy, whose lawyers also represent Landor, said New York officials violated his religious rights when assigning him to a counseling program for sex offenders. The program requires participants to accept responsibility, but since Tripathy is innocent of those charges, he said the program violated the core Hindu tenet against lying. The court appears to be holding Tripathy's case until it can decide Landor's appeal, as requested by their attorneys.
Indianapolis Star
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
How Nick Offerman responded to a homophobic meme of his 'Parks and Rec' character
Ron Swanson once had some harsh words for frozen yogurt, calling it the "celery of desserts." But actor Nick Offerman had even harsher words for Michael Flynn Jr. The son of former national security advisor Michael Flynn adapted a "Parks and Recreation" meme of Offerman's character to diss Pride Month. A popular animated GIF of Offerman on the show, set in the fictional Pawnee, Indiana, shows his character throwing his computer in a dumpster. The version Flynn Jr. posted to X has a rainbow flag over the computer. Offerman wasn't having it. "Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb f---. #HappyPride," Offerman wrote in response to Flynn's post. Offerman has a long history of calling out homophobia. A decade ago, after then-Gov. Mike Pence signed the Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, he and his wife, Megan Mullaly, canceled an Indiana stop on their tour. Offerman also had a solo show scheduled at Indiana University, and he kept that date, donating his proceeds to the Human Rights Campaign. Advocates were concerned that Indiana's RFRA law would allow discrimination against LGBTQ+ people under the guise of protecting the right to practice religion. In 2023, the "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" actor starred in an acclaimed episode of "The Last of Us" as Bill, a gruff survivalist who falls in love with Frank, played by Murray Bartlett. Speaking with i News, Offerman shared that he received "a lot of homophobic hate" about the episode via social media, despite critics hailing it as a highlight of the season. When Offerman won a Film Independent Spirit Award for the role in 2024, he called out this homophobic hate in his speech. "When homophobic hate comes my way and says, 'Why did you have to make it a gay story?' we say, 'Because you ask questions like that,'" he said, adding, "It's not a gay story, it's a love story." RFRA a decade later: The inside story on how a Pence-era bill created a crisis in Indiana In Season 4, Episode 9 of "Parks and Recreation," Ron is confused about personalized ads showing up on his computer. Horrified to learn that the computer knows who he is, and that his home appears on Google Maps, Ron takes his computer outside and throws it in the dumpster. Indiana on TV: Return to Hawkins with 'Stranger Things' Season 5 release this fall. When it's on
Epoch Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Supreme Court Won't Hear Tribal Challenge to Copper Mine
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 27 turned away an appeal by Apache Indians who want to stop a copper mine from being developed on land they consider sacred. The court's decision in Apache Stronghold v. United States took the form of an unsigned order. The court did not explain its ruling. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying the court should have considered whether the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) applies to the mine development. Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in the case. Resolution Copper, which plans to develop the site, Western Apaches have worshipped for centuries on a small sacred site in Arizona known as Oak Flat, which they consider to be a 'direct corridor to the Creator and the locus of sacred ceremonies that cannot take place elsewhere,' Apache Stronghold, a tribal organization, said in its The land is part of the Tonto National Forest, which is overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. Related Stories 3/12/2025 2/25/2025 Although the government had long protected Apache rituals at the site, its stance changed after copper was discovered there, according to the petition. The government moved to transfer the site to Resolution Copper to create a mine there 'that will undisputedly destroy Oak Flat—swallowing it in a massive crater and ending sacred Apache rituals forever,' the petition said. Apache Stronghold contested the decision, citing the RFRA and the Constitution's free exercise clause. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the lawsuit in May 2024 after a federal district court denied a request to block the land transfer. The district court found Apache Stronghold's lawsuit was not likely to succeed. The RFRA was created to safeguard the constitutional right of minority religious groups to exercise their religious beliefs. The statute forbids the federal government from 'substantially burdening' religious exercise unless doing so is deemed to be the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling government interest. Although the appeals court acknowledged that the destruction of Oak Flat would 'literally prevent' the Apaches from participating in practicing their religion, it still found that developing the mine would not substantially interfere with their religious exercise under the RFRA, the petition said. In his 'No more. Now, the government and a mining conglomerate want to turn Oak Flat into a massive hole in the ground. To extract copper lying beneath the land, they plan to blast tunnels that will result in a crater perhaps 1,000 feet deep and nearly two miles wide.' The development will prevent the Apaches from ever using the site again for religious worship, and it is 'a grave mistake' for the Supreme Court to reject the case, which 'meets every one of the standards we usually apply when assessing petitions' for review, Gorsuch wrote. 'The decision below is highly doubtful as a matter of law, it takes a view of the law at odds with those expressed by other federal courts of appeals, and it is vitally important. Before allowing the government to destroy the Apaches' sacred site, this Court should at least have troubled itself to hear their case,' the justice said. Then-Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said in a The district court was correct to find that the congressional authorization for the land transfer was a 'valid and neutral law of general applicability' that 'merely authorizes the exchange of land' between Resolution Copper and the federal government. That court also determined that the land exchange would not 'substantially burden' religious exercise under the RFRA, the brief said.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia governor signs ‘religious freedom' bill, vowing the state still is ‘no place for hate'
Sen. Ed Setzler pitches his RFRA bill at an April 1 press conference. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp kicked off the final day of the 2025 legislative session by signing Senate Bill 36, also known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), into law, appeasing some Georgian residents who have been calling for stronger protections under state law for free exercise of religion. The bill mirrors federal legislation that has been in place since 1993, and imposes new restrictions on state and local governments' ability to 'substantially burden a person's exercise of religion' unless it is 'in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest.' It gained final passage out of the House on April 2 in a 96-70 vote that fell largely along party lines. Democrats in particular have opposed the bill, arguing that without statewide civil rights protections, a RFRA law would allow Georgians greater leeway to discriminate against LGBTQ people and religious minorities. Establishing new religious protections under state law has been a goal of the Georgia GOP since shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015. The bill's sponsor, Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler, first introduced the legislation nearly a decade ago during the 2016 legislative session. The same year, a similar religious freedom bill passed out of the Georgia Legislature, but was ultimately vetoed by then-Governor Nathan Deal, who said he wanted to keep Georgia 'a welcoming state.' Prior to Deal's veto, some of Georgia's largest employers, including Coca Cola and Delta Air Lines, warned that the RFRA bill that the Legislature passed would create a law that made recruiting essential workers more difficult. In a speech immediately after signing the bill, Kemp downplayed concerns that the bill could increase discrimination, drawing parallels between RFRA and legislation from previous sessions aimed at combating hate crimes in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery's murder and heightening statewide protections against antisemitism. 'Today I signed SB 36, also known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, ensuring that once again at the state level, that Georgians are protected, including Georgians of faith,' he said. 'I wanted to let everybody know that despite signing that legislation, Georgia still remains a state that has no place for hate, and I can assure all Georgians of that today.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
