<p>DignityUSA has been involved in a number of recent efforts to alert Congress to significant problems with efforts by US Catholic bishops to expand the number of people covered by &ldquo;religious exemptions.&rdquo; These exemptions exclude certain faith-affiliated institutions from laws providing protection from discrimination in employment public accommodations and health care coverage.</p> <p>On October 30 DignityUSA and eight Dignity chapters were among 43 Catholic organizations that co-signed a letter to Congress expressing concern about efforts to expand religious exemptions in the wake of the Supreme Court&rsquo;s Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision. The letter read in part:</p> <blockquote> <p>&ldquo;As Catholics we are compelled to work toward justice and equality and to create a society in which women and men young and old poor and rich gay and straight are treated with the same dignity and respect and granted the same opportunities. We are called to respect people&rsquo;s decisions made in good conscience even by those with whom we disagree and to reject attempts to use religion or law to coerce someone to act against her or his conscience. Our faith commands us to have a preferential option for the poor: to have their needs always as a priority for our actions as individuals and as a society.</p> </blockquote> <p>Under the pretense of &ldquo;religious liberty&rdquo; businesses are demanding permission to discriminate against people who hold beliefs with which the business owners disagree. And sadly our government is giving them its blessing to do so. As a result the common good for which we strive is imperiled and the social justice to which we are committed seems an ever more distant goal.&rdquo;</p> <p>Along with Call To Action Catholics for Choice CORPUS and WATER DignityUSA sponsored a survey of 1042 Catholic voters from all across the country to determine what Catholics believe about expansion of religious exemptions. The findings were consistent with decades of studies documenting Catholics&rsquo; support for LGBT equality for equality in access to health care services and for Catholic politicians who vote differently from bishops&rsquo; directives. Among the key findings of the study:</p> <ul> <li>Eighty-seven percent (87%) of US Catholics oppose a tax-funded organization refusing to hire someone who is gay or lesbian including 71% who strongly disapprove.</li> <li>Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Catholics disapprove of a law that would allow a business to deny services to employees or customers on the basis of sexual orientation due to an owner&rsquo;s religious beliefs.</li> <li>Eighty-four percent (84%) of Catholics disapprove of a guidance counselor refusing to help a gay or lesbian student due to the counselor&rsquo;s religious beliefs and 70% strongly disapprove of this.</li> </ul> <p>On November 17 the organizations sponsoring the survey held a Congressional briefing and a series of meetings with Senators and Representatives to discuss the survey and the implications for the upcoming legislative sessions. Marianne Duddy-Burke DignityUSA Executive Director was the lead speaker at this briefing. She discussed how the spate of firings of LGBT Church employees implementation of &ldquo;morality clauses&rdquo; or &ldquo;code of conduct&rdquo; clauses denial of benefits for same-sex spouses and refusals of service by publicly funded social service agencies could increase dramatically if religious exemptions are expanded.</p> <p>Following the briefing Marianne met with staff from the offices of Senators Tammy Baldwin (WI) Barbara Boxer (CA) and Patricia Murray (WA) as well as five Representatives. Many had not considered the impact of religious exemptions on LGBT people or the degree of disagreement between bishops and Catholic voters on a wide range of issues. They appeared to appreciate the advance information on the kinds of issues that may come before them in the months ahead.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>