Also known as the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
This law was introduced by Frank Wolf, a Republican Congressman from Virginia. It passed the US House 375-41 and 98-0 in the US Senate. The intent of the bill was to apply pressure of the US government against nations that were preventing people from exercising their fundamental human right to practice their religion.
The first finding says
The right to freedom of religion undergirds the very origin and existence of the United States. Many of our Nation’s founders fled religious persecution abroad, cherishing in their hearts and minds the ideal of religious freedom. They established in law, as a fundamental right and as a pillar of our Nation, the right to freedom of religion. From its birth to this day, the United States has prized this legacy of religious freedom and honored this heritage by standing for religious freedom and offering refuge to those suffering religious persecution.
So what is violation of religious freedom?
(13) VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. The term ‘‘violations of religious freedom’’ means violations of the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion and religious belief and practice, as set forth in the international instruments referred to in section 2(a)(2) and as described in section 2(a)(3), including violations such as—
(A) arbitrary prohibitions on, restrictions of, or punishment for—
(i) assembling for peaceful religious activities such as worship, preaching, and prayer, including arbitrary registration requirements;
(ii) speaking freely about one’s religious beliefs;
(iii) changing one’s religious beliefs and affiliation;
(iv) possession and distribution of religious literature, including Bibles; or
(v) raising one’s children in the religious teachings and practices of one’s choice;
or
(B) any of the following acts if committed on account of an individual’s religious belief or practice: detention, interrogation, imposition of an onerous financial penalty, forced labor, forced mass resettlement, imprisonment, forced religious conversion, beating, torture, mutilation, rape, enslavement, murder, and execution.
The lemmings keep following Trump toward the cliff. He made his big gamble today. What kind of a nation do we want to become?
I suspect they are more like folks who want action and are tired as can be of the business as usual mentality in Washington. Their enthusiasm is likely along the lines of being thankful for someone who speaks about action rather than thinking about the reality and outcome of such a pronouncement as “No Muslims allowed to immigrate to the U.S.” It would likely work like gun bans – only the law abiding citizens would comply and the terrorists would still be able to immigrate one way or the other.