Religious liberty is guaranteed under the US Constitution.

But a decade ago, Kentucky lawmakers expanded that right with the Religious Freedom Act of 2013.

As Kentucky Edition's June Lefler reports, that debate continues today at the state capitol.

Representative Steve Rawlings is lead sponsor of House Bill 47.

Definitions provided within H.B.

47 help to ensure that Kentuckians of faith can rely on the act to be heard in court.

They can also give the courts clarity and how they should weigh these rights against the state's interest and burdening them.

Rawlings, co-sponsors, says this bill would have helped a Kentucky Muslim woman who sued Louisville Metro Corrections.

In this case, there was a woman who was arrested while protesting.

She was a muslim woman and she was wearing a hijab during her arrest.

Then she had to go and get a picture, a photo I.D.

and it was a male that had that gave her a photo that was going to give her the photo I.D.

And he asked her to take it off again.

And she felt that was a violation of her religious freedom, that in her religion, she's not allowed to take her headscarf off around men who are not in her family.

They made her take it off.

They took a picture and then they published the picture for the public.

And so she sued.

There's no it doesn't seem like there's a compelling government interest to make her take off take off her hijab.

And if you're going to do that, then it's easy to accommodate and make it women officers only.

But other cases of religious freedom might be trickier.

What if a religious belief goes against state laws?

What if a religious belief turns into discrimination against others, such as LGBTQ folks?

A Louisville Democrat mentioned the case of Sunrise Children's Services, which refused to place Kentucky foster or adoptive children with gay parents.

They would have the right to discriminate and tell me no that that they would not place a child with me is that that's the intention of for my understanding of what you just said.

That is the intention of the reason why you brought this bill forward.

That is not the reason I brought the bill forward, that my intention was to protect people of faith, to be able to practice their religious beliefs.

Sitting in the House Judiciary Committee and testifying in favor of the bill was a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom.

The National Christian Legal nonprofit is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for their Anti-Lgbtq views.

Alliance Defending Freedom helped win cases for a baker and a web designer who both refused to offer services to gay couples with some reservations.

The bill advanced favorably out of committee, with a 14 to 6 vote for Kentucky edition of June Leffler.

According to the State Fairness Campaign.

24 cities have adopted a fairness ordinance that bans discrimination against gay and trans people in employment, housing and other public services.