Kentucky overrides religious freedom bill veto

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s General Assembly voted overwhelmingly March 26 to override Gov. Steve Beshear’s veto of House Bill (HB) 279, also known as the religious freedom bill. The Democratic House passed the measure 79–15 and the Republican-controlled Senate voted 32–6.

“This important law will protect the rights of people of faith in Kentucky,” said Paul Chitwood, executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC).

“Religious freedom was a good idea when Kentucky became the 15th state of the Union on June 1, 1792. It still is,” Chitwood said. 

Chitwood and Curtis Woods, the KBC’s associate executive director, were among religious leaders and legislators who publicly denounced the governor’s March 22 veto at a March 26 Family Foundation of Kentucky-led rally.

HB 279, proponents argue, brings Kentucky back into line with federal court standards that Congress affirmed in its 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The law seeks to restore “compelling interest/least restrictive means” as legal tests that government must pass before restricting religious freedom.

HB 279 was sharply opposed, however, by gay advocacy and other groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. In the Lexington Herald-Leader, Chris Hartman, director of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, was quoted as saying the override of Beshear’s veto made minorities more vulnerable to discrimination.

Beshear, in vetoing the bill, had said it was vaguely worded and could result in costly and protracted lawsuits. The Democratic governor released a statement after March 26’s legislative action expressing disappointment with the override of the only bill he vetoed in the 2013 legislative session, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

Chitwood expressed his deep appreciation to Kentucky Baptists who took time to call their legislators. “Once again, we see how our people’s involvement makes a difference,” he said.

Adam Greenway, immediate past KBC president and associate dean and professor of evangelism and apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also was “deeply encouraged” by the strong bipartisan vote.