When Miley Cyrus is not busy twerking or licking random objects, she is all about politics…or at least taunting Republican lawmakers.
Cyrus urged her legions of fans to challenge Sen. Tom Cotton for voicing his support of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act by bombarding his office with phone calls.The freshmen lawmaker, who organized the highly controversial Iran open letter, responded to the national backlash against the “religious freedom” bill in his home state.
“I think it’s important we have a sense of perspective,” Cotton said during a Monday interview with CNN. “In Iran they hang you for the crime of being gay.”
Cyrus, an Occupy Wall Street supporter, read about Cotton’s interview in a ThinkProgress blog post then tweeted Cotton’s Washington office number to her nearly 20 million followers urging them to call and “stir some s*** up!”
She included a link to the clip in her Twitter feed.Senator Cotton thinks gay community needs to get “perspective” cuz “In Iran they hang you for the crime of being gay.”
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) April 2, 2015
Let’s stir some shit up! Senator Cotton (202) 224-2353 !!!! Happy Hippies call & express why freedom is important to us & our country! — Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) April 2, 2015
Supporters of the Indiana law argue it shields business from government meddling in their faith-based decisions and merely underscores the First Amendment protection to people of faith.
Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed the religious freedom law on March 26, drawing criticism from multiple tech companies, other state governments and high profile celebrities like Cyrus who say the “religious freedom” law helps businesses discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals for religious reasons..
Apple CEO Tim Cook foolishly compared it to segregation-era Jim Crow laws on Monday.
“We must never return to any semblance of that time,” Cook wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
Cyrus backed his rhetoric Monday and praised his article in a Tweet:Thank yiew Tim Cook & Apple for standing up for equality! Thank you for keeping this country moving forward and evolving!
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 30, 2015
Indiana lawmakers amended their new law Thursday after the national backlash to include specific language that prohibits businesses from anti-gay discrimination and forbids using the law as a legal defense for denying services to similar protected groups. Cyrus, in a recent interview with TIME Magazine, described supporters of the Indiana law as “dinosaurs” that are “dying off.” “They’re trying to make [the bill] look like it’s not discriminatory,” she continued. “It’s confusing for my fans, so I’m happy to speak up about it.”
Cotton was asked Thursday about Cyrus’ reaction. “I’ll always stand up to defend religious freedom, religious freedom is a founding principle of this country,” he said. “In fact it goes way back past our founding –that’s one of the reasons the puritans and pilgrims came here–so I’ll always stand up to defend religious freedom. I’ll also always stand up to keep America safe.”
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