Madison bans discrimination against atheists, non-religious...

[Wilikon]

[...]

While conservatives in Indiana and Arkansas were explaining last month why their new religious objections laws weren’t invitations to discriminate against gays, the leaders of Wisconsin’s capital city were busy protecting the rights of another group: atheists.

In what is believed to be the first statute of its kind in the United States, Madison banned discrimination against the non-religious on April 1, giving them the same protections afforded to people based on their race, sexual orientation and religion, among other reasons.

It’s hardly surprising that such a statute would originate in Madison, an island of liberalism in a conservative-leaning state and the home of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. But the ordinance’s author, Anita Weier, said it didn’t arise from an actual complaint about alleged discrimination based on a lack of religious faith.

“It just seems to me that religion has spread into government more than I feel comfortable with,” said Weier, who left the council after the statute passed. “It just occurred to me that religion was protected, so non-religion should be, too.”


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/87acbdbc0f7843fb96d941f8d90e932c/madison-bans-discrimination-against-atheists-non-religious



*************

[...]

At what point does an ordinance become so broad that it effectively renders itself useless? Also, does this indicate that a lack of belief is considered to be a system of belief?

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2015/05/03/wisconsin-capital-bans-discrimination-against-atheists-n1993827

[BADecker]

Now they are even turning non-religion into religion. 

[RodeoX]

Here in Madison we don't want Gods in our government. We want representation.  Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism collectively only make up about 4% of the population. About 20% of Americans are atheists, and growing. I think you will see a lot more of this in the future

[Wilikon]

Here in Madison we don't want Gods in our government. We want representation.  Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism collectively only make up about 4% of the population. About 20% of Americans are atheists, and growing. I think you will see a lot more of this in the future

At what point does an ordinance become so broad that it effectively renders itself useless? Also, does this indicate that a lack of belief is considered to be a system of belief?

[BADecker]

Here in Madison we don't want Gods in our government. We want representation.  Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism collectively only make up about 4% of the population. About 20% of Americans are atheists, and growing. I think you will see a lot more of this in the future

Nothing has changed since the Garden of Eden. People have always wanted to be God, or at least like God. They simply changed the word to "atheism," and try to ignore the word "God." They are what they ignore.

 

[TECSHARE]

Here in Madison we don't want Gods in our government. We want representation.  Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism collectively only make up about 4% of the population. About 20% of Americans are atheists, and growing. I think you will see a lot more of this in the future

You are misinformed. God has always been part of government. It has always been part of law. The basis for most law as we know it to day was a religious text called The Code of Hammurabi. Some of those laws even still stand today almost exactly as written.

Furthermore all rights you have in the USA are God given rights. Read the bill of rights. Your rights are granted by God, the only authority higher than government. The rule of law is based on the idea that there is a higher power than man, and man must act accordingly (and not as if they are themselves Gods harming others). In short, without God in government, you have no rights. You have the legal authority of an animal or a rock. No one says you have to believe in God or have any religion, just don't forget what came first in your "progressive" revisionism. Hopefully in your war on religion you don't end up free from freedom.

[BADecker]

Here in Madison we don't want Gods in our government. We want representation.  Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism collectively only make up about 4% of the population. About 20% of Americans are atheists, and growing. I think you will see a lot more of this in the future

You are misinformed. God has always been part of government. It has always been part of law. The basis for most law as we know it to day was a religious text called The Code of Hammurabi. Some of those laws even still stand today almost exactly as written.

Furthermore all rights you have in the USA are God given rights. Read the bill of rights. Your rights are granted by God, the only authority higher than government. The rule of law is based on the idea that there is a higher power than man, and man must act accordingly (and not as if they are themselves Gods harming others). In short, without God in government, you have no rights. You have the legal authority of an animal or a rock. No one says you have to believe in God or have any religion, just don't forget what came first in your "progressive" revisionism. Hopefully in your war on religion you don't end up free from freedom.

+1

... except for the free from freedom part. Warn people. When they don't change, let them have what they want. My hope is that their stupidity won't roll over onto the rest of us. But God will protect us from them.

[Chef Ramsay]

Here in Madison we don't want Gods in our government. We want representation.  Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism collectively only make up about 4% of the population. About 20% of Americans are atheists, and growing. I think you will see a lot more of this in the future

You are misinformed. God has always been part of government. It has always been part of law. The basis for most law as we know it to day was a religious text called The Code of Hammurabi. Some of those laws even still stand today almost exactly as written.

Furthermore all rights you have in the USA are God given rights. Read the bill of rights. Your rights are granted by God, the only authority higher than government. The rule of law is based on the idea that there is a higher power than man, and man must act accordingly (and not as if they are themselves Gods harming others). In short, without God in government, you have no rights. You have the legal authority of an animal or a rock. No one says you have to believe in God or have any religion, just don't forget what came first in your "progressive" revisionism. Hopefully in your war on religion you don't end up free from freedom.

I don't disagree w/ your sentiment that a moral people are needed to have the kind of government we're supposed to have but many of the Founders were deists and thus used the terminology of ''The Creator" rather than God. This is how they spelled out natural law in the founding documents, specifically the Declaration of Independence.