Earlier this afternoon, the US Fish and Wildlife Service approved the killing of two bald eagles by the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming. While bald eagles are no longer listed as an endangered species, it is still illegal to kill them. They are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Act as well as well as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service website, the Bald and Golden Eagle Act prohibits the taking, transporting, or possessing of bald eagles or any part of their body or nest from any active or inactive nest. It is possible to obtain a permit to transport or kill a bald eagle. If you’re a Native American, you can apply for a permit that allows you to obtain feathers or other parts for religious purposes. The permit granted today is the result of such a request.
Now, if the Native Americans want to kill the bald eagle as part of their religious ceremonies, they have the right to don’t they?. After all, in this country, there is after all a freedom of religion and religious practice. Or is there?
How is it that to the Obama administration, you’re protected by religious freedom if it’s part of your religious practice to kill once endangered birds that also happen to be a national symbol? However, if you’re a religious organization that doesn’t want to provide contraception such as the morning after pill to women because you believe it’s a form of abortion, you’re against women’s health and not entitled to the liberty to practice your religion as you see fit? Rather, you have the president of the United States tell you that you should listen to ‘the voices of reason’ and just do what the government wants because after all, it only has your best interests at heart.
And if the somewhat skewed endorsement towards religious freedom isn’t enough to make you question the current administration, what about the okaying of the killing of an animal that until very recently was on the endangered species list? Isn’t the well being of the environment and ‘sustainable energy policy’ one of the main concerns of the Obama administration? Isn’t that why millions of tax- payer dollars were wasted on green energy pipe dreams like Solyndra? And isn’t that one reason why domestic drilling of oil has come to a virtual halt, because it’s bad for the environment and rare species like the bald eagle?
But, at least the citizens of the United States can sleep easy in knowing President Obama is still relentlessly protecting their right to practice religious liberty- unless of course, you’re a Catholic organization and happen to believe in protecting the rights of the unborn by not using contraception. Then you’re just a bigot. And you hate women. And obviously, in that case, your rights aren’t protected.