103D CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. Res. ___________ ___________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES Mr. BROWN submitted the following resolution; which was __________________________ RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the issuance under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 of administrative guidelines applicable to religious harassment in employment. Whereas the liberties protected by our Constitution include religious liberty protected by the first amendment; Whereas citizens of the United States profess the beliefs of almost every conceivable religion; Whereas Congress has historically protected religious expression even from governmental action not intended to be hostile to religion; Whereas the Supreme Court has written that "the free exercise of religion means, first and foremost, the right to belief and profess whatever religious doctrine one desires"; Whereas the Supreme Court has firmly settled that under our Constitution the public express of ideas may not be prohibited merely because the content of the ideas is offensive to some; Whereas Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to restate and make clear again our intent and position that religious liberty is and should forever be granted protection from unwarranted and unjustified government intrusions and burdens; Whereas the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has written proposed guidelines to title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, published in the Federal Register on October 1, 1993, that expand the definition of religious harassment beyond established legal standards set forth by the Supreme Court, and that may result in the infringement of religious liberty; and Whereas such guidelines do not appropriately resolve issues related to religious liberty and religious expression in the workplace: Now, therefore, be it _Resolved_, That it is the sense of the Senate that, for purposes of issuing final regulations under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in connection with the proposed guidelines published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on October 1, 1993 (58 Fed. Reg. 51266), the Commission should withdraw religion as a category covered by the proposed guidelines, hold public hearings, and receive additional public comment before issuing similar new regulations. *********************************************************************** * * * American Atheists website: http://www.atheists.org * * PO Box 140195 FTP: ftp://ftp.atheists.org * * Austin, TX 78714-0195 * * Voice: (512) 458-1244 Dial-THE-ATHEIST: * * FAX: (512) 467-9525 (512) 458-5731 * * * * Atheist Viewpoint TV: avtv@atheists.org * * Info on American Atheists: info@atheists.org, * * & American Atheist Press include your name and mailing address * * AANEWS -Free subscription: aanews-request@listserv.atheists.org * * and put "info aanews" in message body * * * * This text may be freely downloaded, reprinted, and/other * * otherwise redistributed, provided appropriate point of * * origin credit is given to American Atheists. * * * ***********************************************************************