Religious Liberty in Virginia

As a citizen, I have been concerned about the presumption of authority by some to reject a statement of religious or conscientious belief held by others.  How can one person or entity judge the beliefs and convictions of another?

As Delegate, I am allowed to request an official opinion from the Attorney General.  On July 7th I wrote a formal letter to AG Jason Miyares asking only two simple questions.

“As Delegate, I ask this two-part question of the Attorney General:

1.   Can a test or standard be placed to evaluate or judge the religious beliefs held by an individual?

2.   Does any person, organization, business, civil government, or any entity ever have the right to deny or override an individual's religious belief?”

After months of discussion, I received the AG’s formal response on September 30th.  While the letter explains the legal reasoning for the response, the answer is as simple as my question:

“Unfortunately, I am unable to render an official advisory opinion in response to your letter.  Answers to your questions are highly contingent on unknown specific factual scenarios and the context in which they arise.”

While I appreciate the time and effort invested in addressing my question, this is not the end of my conversation with the Attorney General about religious liberty.  These letters are only the beginning of my goal to clarify the state of religious liberty in Virginia.  

I have written a second letter addressing a specific concern regarding individual religious liberty in Virginia.  Government does not give the rights protected in the US and VA Constitutions.  The rights are ours; the constitutions serve to protect them.  Today we are facing issues never imaged in Virginia, and we have the right to know exactly where we stand. 

Posted on 21 Oct 2022, 13:37 - Category: religious freedom