Texas SB1978, the So-Called "Save Chick-Fil-A Bill"

Texas Senate Bill 1978 (SB1978) forbids the government from punishing people for their religious affiliations. Sounds like a First Amendment no-brainer to me.

It's not an pro-discrimination bill. It's an anti-discrimination bill.

In fact, it's really not much more than a restatement of section 4 of the Texas Bill of Rights, explicitly extending this basic protection to employees, contractors, and anyone else conducting official business with the state.

No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.

From The Statesmen: House gives preliminary OK to ‘Save Chick-fil-A’ bill
From openstates: SB 1978 - Texas Senate (86)

Chiasm in Leviticus 24 on the Justice Required for Blasphemy, Injury, and Murder

A>V13 - YHWH spoke to Moses
B>>>V14 - Bring the man out of the camp and stone him
C>>>>>V15 - Speak to the people (whoever curses God… whoever blasphemes God…)
D>>>>>>>V16 - Same for sojourner and native
E>>>>>>>>>V17 - Whoever takes a human life
F>>>>>>>>>>>V18 - Whoever takes an animal’s life
G>>>>>>>>>>>>>V19 - Whoever injures his neighbor
H>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>V20a - Fracture for fracture
I>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>V20b - Eye for eye
H>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>V20c - Tooth for tooth
G>>>>>>>>>>>>>V20d - Whatever injury he gives a person
F>>>>>>>>>>>V21a - Whoever kills an animal
E>>>>>>>>>V21b - Whoever kills a person
D>>>>>>>V22 - Same for sojourner and native
C>>>>>V23a - Moses spoke to the people of Israel
B>>>V23b - They brought the man out of the camp and stoned him
A>V23c - The people did as YHWH commanded Moses

This chiasm highlights the principle of man as the image of God. Murder and injury to your neighbor is an assault on the very image of God. The punishment is to be commensurate with the crime (the meaning of "eye for eye and tooth for tooth"), which is why the punishment for intentional blasphemy against God is death. His name is that much higher, that much holier than the name of a man.