I suspect Pastor William Cripe (“Religious freedom bill would provide protection for all faiths,” Jan. 23) and his co-religionists are disappointed that the so-called religious freedom bill was sent out of committee with an “ought not to pass” recommendation. Others of us, however, do not share that sentiment.

We already are burdened with more than enough laws protecting religious practice; what we really need is some stronger legislation protecting us from the excesses of many of Cripe’s colleagues, whatever denominational label they carry.

I’m referring to people who ring my doorbell to share a Bible verse, who button-hole me on a street corner demanding to know if I’ve been “saved,” who demand that creationism rather than evolution be taught as science and that abstinence-only curricula be taught in sex-education classes, while others loudly proclaim the sinfulness of the LGBT community, to mention only a few of my pet peeves.

I am not in the least persuaded by their claims that something is so simply because the Bible says it is.

I do not contest the right of people to hold those views but I strongly object to their in-your-face demand that everyone else live according to their values.

It is from excesses like these that we need legal protection, but I can already hear the screams of protest if any such legislation were ever proposed.

David L. Mitchell, Madison

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