The country is rending itself apart over the once noncontroversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The federal RFRA was introduced by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and signed into law by Bill Clinton, but now, MSNBC host Ed Schultz can’t talk about the law without cutting off the microphone of Heritage Foundation’s Ryan Anderson. After Indiana sparked this heated debate by passing a RFRA, Arkansas lawmakers passed its version of the RFRA Tuesday.

State Rep. Bob Ballinger, who sponsored the bill, told The Washington Post, “This legislation doesn’t allow anybody to discriminate against anybody, not here. The bill does just the opposite. It focuses on the civil rights of people believing what they want to believe, and not letting the government interfere with that. … This is not a conservative or liberal thing. Most people agree that religion should be protected under heightened scrutiny standards, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Vast swaths of Americans now believe the rights enshrined in the First Amendment do not deserve to be interpreted by the courts through strict scrutiny – which will ensure any law is interpreted to allow for the most personal Liberty. It’s a sad day for Sikhs who wear kirpans, Native Americans who collect eagle feathers and churches fighting zoning laws. And leftists claim they’re tolerant and multicultural. More…