In Arizona last week, a federal court was responsible for what is now an increasingly rare occurrence: it issued an opinion in a case involving religious liberty that both liberal- and conservative-minded legal voices praised. Using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the court in Arizona reversed the convictions of four defendants who were leaving food and water in one of the harshest environments in the world so as to save the lives of those who cross our border illegally. For reasons that I suspect are rather obvious, progressive voices have celebrated this decision and another similar case involving a single defendant named Scott Warren. However, to understand conservative support we have to get into some necessary background regarding the RFRA statute.
