still waiting for concrete examples

[ArtSpitzer at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/21/09 10:12:48 PM, Hamilton02 at aol.com writes:

> I'm still waiting for concrete examples of very real threats to religious 
> freedom without rfras.  All examples welcome.
> 
Marci-

I don't know whether you consider forcing a person to choose between 
shaving his religiously-mandated beard and losing his job to be a "very real 
threat to religious freedom," but my clients did, and we just won such a case in 
the DC Circuit under RFRA that we would have lost without it.

The appeal, Potter v. District of Columbia, 558 F.3d 542 (DC Cir 2009), 
turned solely on civil procedure, but the district court's decision, 2007 WL 
2892685 (DDC 2007), was on the merits -- that the District of Columbia had not 
carried its RFRA burden of showing that a "no facial hair" rule for 
firefighters and EMTs was required for safety (safety being a concededly compelling 
interest).

The Fire Deoartment avoided losing on constitutional grounds, a la FOP v. 
City of Newark, by eliminating, in the middle of the case, its long-existing 
exemption for men who had a medical need to avoid shaving.

Art Spitzer
ACLU  


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