WA Rep. Suzan DelBene Introduces Bill to Ban Registration Based on Religion

Although President-elect Donald Trump has yet to officially take office—thank goodness—he's already making scary moves such as blocking press access and making some unnerving cabinet appointments, including a man with ties to white nationalists, and another with a history of making racist comments.

Courtesy of Suzan DelBene's office

One of his administration's scariest suggestions: creating a national registry for Muslims , based on a "precedent" of World War II's Japanese internment camps.

Horrified? So was Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who represents Washington state's first congressional district.

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This afternoon, DelBene, who was recently reelected, introduced the No Religious Registry Act, a bill which would ban the creation of any kind of registry based on religion.

Here are the details from a press release announcing the proposal:

[The] bill would prohibit the Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security and any United States government official from establishing or utilizing a registry for the purposes of classifying individuals on the basis of religious affiliation. The legislation would cover U.S. nationals, U.S. visa applicants and aliens lawfully present in the United States.

“President-elect Donald Trump is breaking his promise to be a President for all Americans by supporting the creation of a Muslim registry. This kind of xenophobic and hateful rhetoric has no place in our government,” DelBene said in a statement. “We cannot allow our country to disregard the civil liberties enshrined in the Constitution. My bill would prohibit the administration from violating the constitutional rights of Americans because everyone should be treated equally under our laws.”

The bill's original sponsors currently include Representatives John Conyers, John Lewis, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Doris Matsui, Steve Cohen, Keith Ellison, Andre Carson and Judy Chu. When reached for comment, a representative from Congressman Adam Smith’s (WA-09) office said Smith planned to sign onto the bill. A representative from Rep. DelBene's office said that Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Adam Smith (WA-09), and Denny Heck (WA-10) requested to be added to the bill.

"Once the House is back in session we’ll ask that they be added and hopefully Congress.gov reflects that in following days," they said.

Trump's religious registry goes against American values. I support @RepDelBene's bill to prohibit this repugnant proposal.

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 20, 2016

I joined @RepDelBene to introduce the No Religious Registry Act because our country was founded on freedom of religion. 1/2

— Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) November 21, 2016

People targeted for who or how they worship have always found safety in the U.S. The No Religious Registry Act will keep it that way! 2/2

— Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) November 21, 2016



Washingtonians: Contact your elected officials to get them to support Rep. DelBene's bill! Here's how to reach them:

Congressional District 2: Rep. Rick Larsen

San Juan and Island Counties, Mountlake Terrace, and Bellingham

(202) 225-2605 Congressional District 3: Jaime Herrera Beutler

Lewis County, Klickitat County, Skamania

(202) 225-3536 Congressional District 4: Dan Newhouse

Okanogan County, Yakima County, Grant County

(202) 225-5816 Congressional District 5: Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Stevens County, Lincoln County, Ferry County

(202) 225-2006 Congressional District 6: Derek Kilmer

Clallam County, Grays Harbor County

(202) 225-5916 Congressional District 7: Jim McDermott

Vashon, Edmonds, Shoreline, Burien

(202) 225-3106 Congressional District 8: David Reichert

Chelan County, Kittitas County

(202) 225-7761 Support The Stranger More than ever, we depend on your support to help fund our coverage. Support local, independent media with a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you! Congressional District 9: Adam Smith

Bellevue, Renton, Federal Way, SeaTac

(202) 225-8901 Congressional District 10: Denny Heck

Olympia, Lakewood, and parts of Tacoma

202-225-9740

This post has been updated.