President Obama: Defend Freedom of Religion Law

Free To Believe: Federal Action to Support Federal Law on Freedom of Religion

We, the undersigned, call upon United States President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, as the chief executive and law enforcement agent of America, to uphold and enforce federal law in regards to freedom of religion and freedom of worship.

U.S. Code Title 42, Chapter 21C, known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), protects individuals and houses of worship from discriminatory and unduly burdensome zoning regulations, and protects the religious exercise of all Americans. It is the responsibility of the U.S. federal government and the Department of Justice to enforce this law. Moreore, it is also the Department of Justice's role to prosecute bias crimes against people of any religion, including the acts of vandalism, and arson that we continue to see increasing in America. The law applies to all Americans, as shown at http://bit.ly/free2believe

The law protects the right of Muslims to establish mosques, even where such a building might be unwelcome, just like it applies to people of all faiths and beliefs.

The law says, "No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution," unless it meets very strict conditions. Nor may any government inflict a regulation that discriminates "on the basis of religion or religious denomination."

Whether it is in New York City or in any part of America, as we see such issues being debated around the nation today, the law is the law and the law applies to everyone, everywhere, and every religion. We are one - United States of America, with liberty and justice for all.

Today, in too many parts of America, there are some, including state government officials, who seek to condemn and attack all Muslims. There are those who seek to deny freedom of religion and freedom of worship to Muslims in any part of the nation.

But the same Constitution that ensures freedom of expression also guarantees our freedom of religion for all Americans and all Muslim Americans. Our federal law must be enforced for all Americans. Today, there is a coast-to-coast effort by some to seek to deny freedom of religion and worship to Muslim Americans. We need you to speak out and to act now.

The message from you to America is simple: the law is the law for all Americans.

The message that we must hear from you today is that the U.S. federal government will defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States - for all citizens. The message that we must hear from you today is that America's chief executive and chief law enforcement officer will uphold the federal law regarding religious land use, and defy those who seek to violate our shared law in America.

We ask you to act, not in the name of any one religion, any one identity group, but we ask you to act simply as Americans.