ACLU Uses Indiana's Religious Freedom Law to Sue Jail on Behalf of Muslim Inmate
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Madeline Buckley
INDIANA---Last year, the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union feared the state's religious freedom law could be used to discriminate against gay and lesbian Hoosiers. Now, the organization is using it in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Muslim inmate. The ACLU is suing the Boone County Sheriff's office, accusing the jail staff of refusing to serve a halal diet to Gannon Thomas. Filed on Wednesday, the lawsuit alleges that the staff violated Thomas' First Amendment rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, as well as his rights under Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But this is the type of lawsuit, some experts say, that uses the law as it was intended: to protect religious minorities from discrimination. [link]
By Madeline Buckley
INDIANA---Last year, the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union feared the state's religious freedom law could be used to discriminate against gay and lesbian Hoosiers. Now, the organization is using it in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Muslim inmate. The ACLU is suing the Boone County Sheriff's office, accusing the jail staff of refusing to serve a halal diet to Gannon Thomas. Filed on Wednesday, the lawsuit alleges that the staff violated Thomas' First Amendment rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, as well as his rights under Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But this is the type of lawsuit, some experts say, that uses the law as it was intended: to protect religious minorities from discrimination. [link]
