What is the Right's Problem with the Mosque at Ground Zero?

You hear it all the time. The GOP and much of the right wing claim unwavering support for the Constitution and freedom. Yet when a religious issue comes up, they go back against their words.

The latest example is the mosque that is slated to be built about two blocks away from where the World Trade Center fell. While it may indeed be an act of Islamic triumphalism, it is not the place of government to restrict a religious entity from building a place of worship.

The Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment are very clear. The government cannot (and should not) discriminate against an entity due to its religious affiliation or teachings. You would hear a much different tune if the leaders of Islam were trying to block the construction of a Christian church. In this case, Christian leaders would be proclaiming that they have a Right protected by the First Amendment.

So-called conservatives are claiming that, because a piece of landing gear from the planes ended up in the building that is being purchased to be reconstructed into a mosque, a local landmarking law should be applied. However, the government cannot (and should not) apply such a law because of a group's message, which is precisely what is being attempted here.

Consolidated Edison may have the right as a private property owner to discriminate in who it chooses to sell this piece of real estate to, but the government cannot (and should not) restrict the transfer of such property. If you have a beef with a mosque being built near ground zero, then you should take it up with Consolidated Edison, not the government.

Those who are wanting to carve out an exception to our First Amendment religious protections are themselves sacrificing American principles and jeopardizing American freedom for mere symbolism.