HOUSE MEMORIAL 30

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Nathan P. Small and Jason C. Harper

A MEMORIAL

URGING CONGRESS TO PROHIBIT THE CREATION AND UTILIZATION OF A NATIONAL REGISTRY BASED ON RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION.

     WHEREAS, the first amendment to the United States constitution prohibits the government from establishing religion and secures to the people the freedom to worship in the manner of their choosing; and

     WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico provides that "Every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and no person shall ever be molested or denied any civil or political right or privilege on account of his religious opinion or mode of religious worship. No person shall be required to attend any place of worship or support any religious sect or denomination; nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship."; and

     WHEREAS, the human rights laws of New Mexico and the United States protect individuals from being discriminated against by employers, including the federal and state governments, and in places of public accommodation on the basis of religion; and

     WHEREAS, the United States is a signatory to the universal declaration of human rights, which sets out the core principles of the rights of all humans, including the right to freedom of religion, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance and to equal protection of the law without any discrimination; and

     WHEREAS, a national registry based on a specific religious affiliation is antithetical to the principle of religious freedom that is espoused in the founding documents of this great state and nation; and

     WHEREAS, a registry that targets individuals based on their religion undermines this state's and this nation's commitment to human rights that are found in the anti-discrimination statutes and the universal declaration of human rights; and

     WHEREAS, the one hundred-fourteenth congress considered a bill to prohibit the collection of information and the establishment of a registry for the purposes of classifying certain individuals on the basis of their religious affiliation;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the United States congress be urged to prohibit the creation and utilization of a national registry based on religious affiliation of persons in the United States; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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