WSJ: Trump mulls religious gay ban

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Goodness me, is this fake news? Via the WSJ:

A draft of an executive order circulating in the Trump administration would dramatically expand the legal protections for individuals, organizations and employers on the grounds of their religious beliefs, potentially allowing the denial of services to gay and transgender people, and contraception coverage for employees.

The draft, titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” hasn’t been signed and may never make it to President Donald Trump’s desk. A copy of it was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Sarah Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said in an email on Thursday, “There is no action planned [on the order] at this time.”

Still, advocacy groups on the right and the left see the draft order as a broad statement of intent from a president who courted conservative Christian voters during the campaign by promising to expand the role of religion in public life.

Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, Mr. Trump reiterated his commitment to expanding the role of faith in the public square, vowing to repeal a law known as the Johnson Amendment that bars churches from engaging in political activity. Those deemed in violation risk losing their tax-exempt status.

This would be seriously jumping the shark.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.