The Easter Attacks

Over 200 people were killed in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and twice that number were injured. Churches were the primary targets but hotels and restaurants were also targeted.    An extremist Islamic group is alleged to have organized the attacks.  As hundreds of thousands of people worldwide celebrated Easter and Passover, religion once again was the disguise for murder.  Worshippers are easy targets.  This is a phenomenon with which the US is well-acquainted.  

Last October, 11 Jewish worshippers were killed in a Pittsburgh synagogue as they observed the Sabbath. 2018  saw yet another increase in hate crimes, particularly in anti-Semitic acts.  Among the many charges filed against that shooter was obstruction with the free exercise of religious beliefs.  In 2012, six people were killed by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.  Attacks on Christian worshippers in Virginia and Tennesee were similarly horrifying.

The solution is elusive because the US fails to recognize a right to safety.

 The US Congress is unwilling to limit access to semi-automatics and other weapons used in mass killing.  Yet such action would prevent most of the large scale killing of worshippers and others.  All of this raises the question of state responsibility to protect the safe exercise of religious practices. Despite the recent focus by the federal courts on religious freedom, the ability to worship in a safe environment has eroded.  What we observe is a right which the court defends when the issue is preserving mainstream (usually Christian) beliefs while refusing to assume any responsibility to ensure the enforcement of those rights.  US courts reject any notion that the state has a responsibility to ensure safety even though safety is what makes the exercise of our fundamental rights possible.  A la Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the right to safety is not acknowledged in our governmental systems.