Indeed, what was originally designed as a cakewalk through the Hill legal labyrinth has turned out to be a path with increasing obstacles for RLPA boosters, including the powerful Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion. RLPA enjoyed unanimous approval when its predecessor, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed by Congress in 1993 and signed into law by Presid ent Clinton. Critics charge that RLPA will eventually be found unconstitutional should lawmakers enact it in its present form. Scheduling and the Clinton-Lewinsky controversy, though, is chewing up the remaining time for this Congressional session in Washington. A legislative aide to one member of the Senate Judiciary Committee informed an American Atheists official earlier this week that RLPA was not on the agenda for the rest of this year, and would have to be postponed until January, 1999.
Opposition continues to build.
Signing on to the loose coalition assembled by Hamilton are such diverse groups as American Atheists, National League of Cities, the National Trust and the National Center for Public Policy Research. The Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has officially broken ranks with its national parent, and no longer supports the Religious Liberty Protection Act. Even if the Religious Liberty Protection Act cannot be fast tracked for legislative action in the next three weeks, supporters of the measure are taking no chances. Behind the scenes, representatives of the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion and allied groups are working hard to stop any call for the Senate to hold further hearings on the matter. Sources on the Hill and elsewhere report that Sen. Hatch and his committee are still stubbornly resisting any call for more public hearings about the Religious Liberty Protection Act.