Today in Supreme Court History: June 11, 1993

6/11/1993: Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah decided.

Comments

[apedad]

Facts of the case
The Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye practiced the Afro-Caribbean-based religion of Santeria. Santeria used animal sacrifice as a form of worship in which an animal's carotid arteries would be cut and, except during healing and death rights, the animal would be eaten. Shortly after the announcement of the establishment of a Santeria church in Hialeah, Florida, the city council adopted several ordinances addressing religious sacrifice. The ordinances prohibited possession of animals for sacrifice or slaughter, with specific exemptions for state-licensed activities.

Question
Did the city of Hialeah's ordinance, prohibiting ritual animal sacrifices, violate the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause?

Conclusion

UNANIMOUS DECISION FOR CHURCH OF LUKUMI BABALU AYE, INC.

Yes. The Court held that the ordinances were neither neutral nor generally applicable. The ordinances had to be justified by a compelling governmental interest and they had to be narrowly tailored to that interest. The core failure of the ordinances were that they applied exclusively to the church. The ordinances singled out the activities of the Santeria faith and suppressed more religious conduct than was necessary to achieve their stated ends. Only conduct tied to religious belief was burdened. The ordinances targeted religious behavior, therefore they failed to survive the rigors of strict scrutiny.

Gotta love unanimous decisions!

[Dan Schiavetta]

No you can't cite your religious beliefs to keep animals for slaughter in violation of law. But you can use your religious beliefs to deny your employees health insurance in violation of law. Hobby Lobby.

[Krychek_2]

I note that that problem could be fixed with universal single payer health care.

[Dan Schiavetta]

That and many other problems.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Be patient, grasshopper. Single payer health care is inevitable for Americans.

I just hope the program is formally entitled Obamacare.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Yes.

The struggle to get the Affordable Care Act was the most selfless and courageous thing I think any President has ever done. He was fighting for no constituency except the desperate and the destitute, faced hypocritical and vicious opposition, and had to broker a deal with his enemies to get a partial solution. But that's politics. (And, that's life, if you're an adult.)