Hall of Fame NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took hasn’t shied away from activism through visibility and his leadership. In 1971 he famously and publicly changed his name to reflect his Muslim heritage. He has not hidden his use of marijuana for medicinal purposes (he suffers from migraines). He has been outspoken on race issues and recently got into a feud with Donald Trump.
This week he took aim at Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, Mike Huckabee and others who are trying to force their own religious beliefs on other people, most notably to prevent same-sex couples from marrying. Writing for Time, he took shots at Davis’ lack of patriotism and the long history in American of using religion to keep classes of people disenfranchised.
Following this tradition in America, should the Kim Davises of the country be allowed to refuse marriage licenses to divorced people because Jesus spoke against divorce? Or deny licenses to interracial couples because of the story of Ham? Or stone rebellious children because of Deuteronomy? The reason we separate Church and State is because the Founding Fathers believed government should be guided by a balance of morality and reason, not blind religious faith. There are about 35 major Christian denominations in the U.S. Various denominations don’t always agree with each other on what the proper moral action is in the same situation. Then we add in all the other religions and belief systems in our country—all protected by the Constitution—and we see why we don’t go to any one religion to decide what should be legal. The Orthodox Jewish clerk at the DMV cannot deny you a driver’s license because you eat ham. The Muslim clerk at the Social Security office can’t deny you benefits because you drink liquor. The Christian Scientist clerk at the IRS cannot audit your taxes because you chose medical help. Practice your religion in freedom; just don’t make everyone else practice your religion.
You have to read the whole piece, which is one of the best shots at the nonsense surrounding the canonization of Davis by anti-LGBT hate-mongers. And big thanks to Kareem for so eloquently and pointedly eviscerating Davis, Huckabee and their anti-Americanism.
