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Utah "Religious Liberty" Amendment (2016)
| "Religious Liberty" Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Religion | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
A Utah "Religious Liberty" Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Utah as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would have forbidden religious organizations, institutions and entities, and individuals acting in a role connected with a religious organization, from being required to perform or sanction "any rite, ceremony, service, or ordinance that the religious organization, institution, or entity determines to be inconsistent with its tenets, doctrines, or beliefs."[1]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Utah Constitution
The proposed amendment would have amended Section 4 of Article I of the Utah Constitution. The following underlined text would be added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]
The rights of conscience shall never be infringed. The State shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office of public trust or for any vote at any election; nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror on account of religious belief or the absence thereof. There shall be no union of Church and State, nor shall any church dominate the State or interfere with its functions. No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or for the support of any ecclesiastical establishment. No religious organization, institution, or entity, regardless of denomination, and no individual acting in a role connected with a religious organization, institution, or entity, may be required or compelled to perform, solemnize, execute, or recognize any rite, ceremony, service, or ordinance that the religious organization, institution, or entity determines to be inconsistent with its tenets, doctrines, or beliefs.[2]
Support
The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Jacob Anderegg (R-6).[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Utah Constitution
According to the Utah Constitution, a two-thirds vote is required in one legislative session of the Utah Legislature to qualify the amendment for the ballot.
The Utah Legislature's 2015 session ended on March 12, 2015, without the bill passing both chambers. State law gave legislators the option to reintroduce the bill during the 2016 legislative session, which began on January 25, 2016, and ran through March 10, 2016.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Utah Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 5," accessed March 6, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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State of Utah Salt Lake City (capital) |
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