c. 1997 Religion News Service

RICHMOND, Va. _ Virginia, the historic well from which the religious freedom clause in the Bill of Rights was drawn, may become the first state to consider strict guidelines on government interference in religious practices in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last summer’s that gave governments wide lattitude to control religious expression.

Prompted by a recent controversy over rules restricting churches feeding the homeless, State Delegate A. Donald McEachin of Richmond, a member of the legislature’s House of Delegates, it’s lower chamber, said he will introduce a bill to expand the rights of religious organizations when the lawmakers convene for the 1998 session.

The law, if passed, would in effect restore the high standards government must meet before interfering with churches struck down in June when the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional the three-year-old federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

McEachin was joined in his proposal by a diverse group of supporters, including two politically conservative religious groups, the Christian Coalition and the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists.

In addition, both the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor _ James S. Gilmore III and Donald S. Beyer Jr. _ have endorsed the proposal.

At the time it declared RFRA unconstitutional, the High Court said such power belonged in the hands of the states.

The focal point in the Virginia controversy _ a controversy being repeated in a growing number of cities across the country _ is a Richmond ordinance limiting feeding programs for the homeless. Under the rule, groups cannot engage in such charity work outside the downtown district unless they agree to pay a $1,000 fee for the right to plead their cases before a zoning board.

“We should ensure that all Virginians are able to practice their faith, whether that be feeding the poor or any other part of their community,” said McEachin in announcing his plans for the bill.

The proposed bill, called the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, says free exercise of religion cannot be restricted unless a government agency can prove the restriction is non-discriminatory and is “essential to further a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering this interest.”

McEachin said his proposed legislation is modeled after the overturned RFRA enacted by Congress in 1991 and struck down in June by the Supreme Court.

The bill hearkens back to the Virginia Statute for Religious Liberty, enacted before the U.S. Constitution, which served as a major source for the First Amendment to the Constitution. According to church-state scholars, the Virginia statute and the Bill of Rights, which have their genesis in colonial-era politicians Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and James Madison, established America’s unique system of religious liberty enabling the nation to avoid many of the kinds of religious strife still played out in other regions of the world.

McEachin’s proposed law gives new impetus to attempts by a broad spectrum of the nation’s religions to remain unfettered by laws that would impede other groups.

Richmond’s ordinance has generated fiery reaction from one congregation, which has already violated the ban. The law prohibits feeding more than 30 people outside the downtown district more than seven times per year.

Another group, an ecumenical coalition of five parishes outside the district that feeds the homeless on weekends, has filed suit, charging the city has violated its religious freedoms to care for the poor.

City officials, obviously under the gun from public opinion, say they are still hoping for a compromise without bringing in the courts or the legislature.

“I think the debate will resolve the issue long before we get to the General Assembly. And I think it is most appropriate to resolve this at the local level,”said Assistant City Manager George Musgrove.

Musgrove said the current ordinance is actually less restrictive than the prior law, which made no allowances for churches to apply for permits.

MJP END BRIGSS