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The Supreme Court is currently facing a case involving Catholic social services in , which places foster children but will not place foster children in the case of same-sex couples. There is a chance that the decision in this case would have bearing on what happened at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, where two teachers were essentially pressured to resign after they announced same-sex engagements.

Kennedy Catholic High School students protest resignation of gay teachers

Former state Attorney General Rob McKenna joined ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Radio’s Dave Ross on Seattle Morning News Thursday to discuss the possible ripple effects of the SCOTUS case in terms of religious freedom.

“The question is whether or not the application of a general law, like a law against discrimination, can be construed as targeting an organization for its religious beliefs or not,” McKenna said.

For the case in Philadelphia, conservatives are hoping an opinion written by Justice Scalia in the early ’90s is overturned.

“That opinion said that if a general law applies to everybody, religious beliefs do not excuse an individual from compliance with a valid general law,” McKenna said.

A main difference between the SCOTUS case and Kennedy Catholic High School is that the agency in Philadelphia accepts government money, where the high school is an independent religious institution.

McKenna believes intention will matter, examining if Philadelphia’s law against discrimination was motivated by ill will toward a religious group, in this case Catholicism.

Recent cases have shown that if you have certain religious beliefs, you may not have to comply with certain federal requirements. McKenna cites the Hobby Lobby ruling of 2014 that allowed Hobby Lobby stores to deny contraceptive coverage to female employees as required by the Affordable Care Act.

Burien parent calls out hypocrisy after LGBTQ teachers resign

McKenna believes the case for Kennedy High School will be more difficult to prove targeted discrimination than the Philadelphia case.

“In the Kennedy High School case, there isn’t any evidence, that I’m aware of, that enforcing the laws against employment discrimination could in any way be painted … as hostility toward the Catholic Church or toward a Catholic high school.”