As a Quaker, William Penn founded Pennsylvania on the principle of religious freedom in 1681. The colony quickly attracted people from a wide array of religious beliefs who were fleeing religious persecution and wars from across Europe. Unfortunately, in the 1800s, laws were passed that were rooted in religious restrictions on speech which imposed a religious bias far afield of William Penn’s founding principle. 

 

Section 17.5 of Pennsylvania’s law that governs corporations and businesses prevents association names that contain words deemed “blasphemous,” “profane,” or which “profane the Lord’s name.” In 2010, a federal court struck down this section as unconstitutional because it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments by discriminating based on viewpoint and religion. While unenforceable, the statute remains on the books and sends the wrong message about Pennsylvania’s commitment to religious neutrality and free speech. 

 

I will be introducing legislation that repeals this language from law in order to demonstrate Pennsylvania’s commitment in upholding constitutional rights by aligning statute with judicial precedent and First Amendment principles. 

 

Please join me in co-sponsoring this measure to stand up for religious freedom and the Constitution.