Here is an example of religious "moral values" finding their way into the political sphere, propelled there perhaps by a religious right emboldened by the re-election of Bush, America's most famous evangelical Christian.
A woman was fired or forced to quit her job (depends on which news account you read) as sheriff's dispatcher because of a law that prohibits cohabitation by unmarried people.
Her boss, Sheriff Carson Smith, is not sympathetic. He isn't talking much, but I can imagine his defense of his position: She's working for the sheriff's office, whose purpose is to enforce the law. If she isn't willing to enforce the law in her own home, then she has no business working for the sheriff's office.
He didn't actually say that, but I think it's reasonable to infer between the lines. What he did say is this:
Quote:
Sheriff Carson Smith declined to specifically discuss the matter, but says he holds his employees to a high standard. North Carolina law prohibits unmarried, unrelated adults of the opposite sex from living together.
"It is a violation of general statute and it goes against something that I believe is a moral issue," Smith said. "Personally and morally, I think it's best to be married if you're going to be living together."
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/062...cherfired.html
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...tation_lawsuit
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So my question to TFPers, especially those who consider themselves on the "religious right": do you agree with this law, and Smith's sentiments above? Should this woman not be allowed to be working as a sheriff's dispatcher because she's living with her boyfriend?
How far should "absolute morality" be enforced in the workplace, when we're talking about something done in the privacy of one's home?
Are we going to start reactivating and enforcing all blue laws now?