In the United States, defendants at a trial are entitled to a jury of their peers.

For Christian Right activist Dave Daubenmire, that means a jury composed only of conservative Christians if the defendant is a pastor:

“Who are your peers?” Daubenmire asked. “Most people I walk around with are not my peers. They’re not my peers, and for them to stand in judgment [of me] when they do not share my values and don’t understand the things of the spirit, for them to be able to do that [is unconstitutional].” “If I’m before a jury of my peers, it’s like-minded Christians who are Bible-believers and understand the importance of biblical principles in the conduct of a civil society,” he argued. “Why should I, as a Christian man, go stand before a jury of unbelievers or nonbelievers or whatever? Those are not my peers.”

Why? Because the Constitution doesn’t say you get a jury of people who share your religious beliefs. It says you have a right to an “impartial jury.” That’s it. Those “unbelievers or nonbelievers or whatever” could very well be on a jury involving a conservative Christian defendant as long as they agree that their personal beliefs will not color the way they see the case.

It might also be tough to find a dozen people who agree with Daubenmire’s Holocaust denial and obsession with homosexuality and who promise not to let their beliefs influence their decisions. After all these are people who believe African Americans who voted for President Obama aren’t even real Christians.

(via Right Wing Watch)

