Yes, Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono are religious bigots

by Todd Starnes,

There are a disturbing number of Democrat lawmakers who believe Christians must renounce their religious beliefs and affiliations in religious-based organizations if they want to hold public office.

The latest victim of this blatant religious bigotry is Brian Buescher, President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. District Court in Nebraska.

Buescher came under attack by Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, for his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a revered and highly-respected Catholic charitable organization.

Both lawmakers posed a series of written questions demanding to know if he would end his membership in the Knights of Columbus should he be confirmed.

“The Knights of Columbus has taken a number of extreme positions,” Hirono wrote in the questionnaire. “For example, it was reportedly one of the top contributors to California’s Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage.”

Harris referred to the group as an “all-male society” and took issue with their positions on abortion and other culture war issues.

“Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?” Harris queried.

The condemnation from conservatives was swift.

But I was especially encouraged to see Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, a newly announced presidential candidate, call out members of her own party for “weaponizing religion.”

“We must call this out for what it is – religious bigotry,” she wrote in a scathing op-ed in The Hill. “I stand strongly against those who are fomenting religious bigotry, citing as disqualifies Buescher’s Catholicism and his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus. If Buescher is ‘unqualified’ because of his Catholicism and affiliation with the Knights of Columbus, then President John F. Kennedy, and the ‘liberal lion of the Senate’ Ted Kennedy would have been ‘unqualified’ for the same reasons.”

I respect Gabbard’s bold declaration that “no American should be asked to renounce his or her faith or membership in a faith-based, service organization in order to hold public office.” But I’m afraid she may be in the minority within her party.

…in 2012 Democrats removed God from their party platform. And in 2016 delegates heckled a preacher attempting to deliver a prayer during the national convention.

That could explain why modern-day congressional confirmation hearings now seem to resemble religious inquisitions.

The Democrats may as well have asked, “Are you now or have you ever been a follower of Jesus Christ?”

It’s not just religious bigotry, but it comes dangerously close to violating Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution – there “shall be no religious test” for any American seeking to serve in public office. In other words, a religious litmus test for public office is against the law.

Sens. Harris and Hirono are either woefully ignorant of the law or they are, in fact, religious bigots. I contend they are both – making them undeserving of a place in Congress.

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