Major Nebraska Religious Liberty Victory!

We are excited to share that the First Freedom Act, a NFA priority bill to protect religious freedom, has passed through the final round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature! 

Introduced by Senator Tom Brewer as LB 277, the First Freedom Act was amended into LB 43 earlier this year and is the most significant religious freedom bill to pass through the legislature in decades. 

Religious freedom is our most foundational freedom. Our nation’s founders recognized this God-given right as so fundamental to who we are that they preserved it in the Constitution’s First Amendment.

Yet, throughout the country, laws and ordinances are being passed to restrict religious freedom and punish people of faith because of their beliefs. We even witnessed churches being closed by government order while casinos and abortion clinics remained open. 

Under the First Freedom Act, this could not happen in Nebraska. The Act prohibits all state actors from treating churches and religious organizations worse than secular businesses during a pandemic or state of emergency and establishes a high standard mirroring the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act to ensure government does not infringe on individual religious liberty rights. 

This legislation is the best thing any state can do to ensure that religious freedom for all citizens is protected and is a generational win for one of our most fundamental human rights: freedom of religion.

The NFA team has worked tirelessly for years to get this bill across the finish line, strategizing, meeting with senators, and working behind the scenes to help the bill pass because we believe all Nebraskans should be free to live and work according to their beliefs without fear of unjust punishment by the government. 

Because of your support, religious liberty will now be better protected in Nebraska.