NCGA: Jeff Tarte's shots bill, "the greater good," and religious freedom | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: Brant Clifton keeps a real close in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    Three state senators have introduced a bill removing the state's religious exemption for immunizing minor children. On the face of it, most people may see it as entirely reasonable to require immunizations against some of the more serious diseases out there.

    But shots are not fool-proof nor fail-safe. The CDC pointed out that a lot of people who got flu shots last year STILL got the flu - thanks to a mutation of the virus. And there is an uptick in serious diseases - that we thought we had licked - thanks to the unrestrained flow of illegal aliens across the border.

    Some proponents of this legislation are arguing: What's the big deal? This religious exemption only affects a few people.

    From what I've seen during my time on this Earth - you give the government an inch, and they take a mile. (Social security and welfare - when they were first passed - were supposed to be temporary programs to help a small segment of people navigate through a crisis.) Letting the government stomp on one religious belief will lead to the stomping on others in the future. You can count on that.

    *You don't want to ordain gay ministers or marry gay people in your church? It's for the greater good that discrimination in all forms be vanquished. We're going to pass a law mandating that - if you want to keep your church's doors open - you host gay wedding receptions, ordain gay ministers, allow gay youth leaders, and anything else we think of.*

    It's a slippery slope, folks. Our Founding Fathers had some serious concerns about government sinking its talons into religion. Look no further than the Church of England's harassment of Puritans - which led to their fleeing to America and the founding of the Massachusetts colony.

    Think two or three or four times before smacking down religious exemptions.