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PHOENIX -- When Arizona lawmakers return to the capitol on Jan. 14, one group will be watching closely.

"Our political agenda is pretty straightforward," said Serah Blain, executive director of the Secular Coalition of Arizona. "We just believe that civil rights and statutes should not be based on religious beliefs of people in power."

Blain said the coalition formed after several secular groups became concerned over what they see as powerful groups pushing religious-focused legislation.

"We have a disproportionate number of conservative Christian legislators in a state where we have a pretty high level of non-theistic people so they've just had a disproportionate level of influence that we'd like to counter."

Blain said her lobbying group will be paying attention to any bills involving reproductive healthcare, abortion or birth control.

Blain said they'd like to see legislation supporting more science-based sex education in public schools and an Oregon-style "Death with Dignity Act," which makes physician-assisted suicide legal in some cases.

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    Constitutionalist wrote...
    Morality and laws (1)
    January 1, 2013 9:11 am
    I understand that in this country the founding fathers did not want us to have a theocracy, or let a religious majority exclude everybody else. The founding fathers wanted a country where people could freely and peacefully worship who or what they wanted to. And as long as those citizens are not violating the law, then they could worship how they chose to. Yet so often I hear arguments like this article were people say things like “you can’t regulate morality”. Yet if you think about it, what is morality, and what is a law?
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    Constitutionalist wrote...
    Morality and laws (2)
    January 1, 2013 9:11 am
    Morality is the distinction between what is right and wrong. A law tells us what is right and what is wrong. So laws in fact, are based on morality, in that people have come to a decision of what is right and wrong, and attach consequences if somebody choses to something that, in the laws eyes, is wrong. And while we do not have a state religion, our laws are heavily influenced by the teachings that incidentally stem from Christianity. Laws against things such as stealing, murder, adultery, lying, can be found in the Ten Commandments.
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    Constitutionalist wrote...
    Morality and laws (3)
    January 1, 2013 9:12 am
    And even the general attitude that we should not harm others if we ourselves would not want to be harmed, stems from Christianity. So no, we should not let one group dictate us solely based upon their religion, or belief that there is no religion. But simply being religious, does not mean that a person should be excluded from making or influencing laws. For that in itself, would contradict the very freedoms our forefather sought to establish and protect.
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