State Sen. Rupp Wants to End Ban on Public Money for Religious Schools

Money for religious-affiliated schools and organizations? 

That could be a reality if one local state lawmakers gets his way.

State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-, is sponsoring a resolution that would allow public funds to be given to religious entities that Rupp says "play a huge role in many Missourians' lives." Those entities include schools, such as in , a Catholic school that doesn't get money under the state's current constitution.

Rupp said Missouri is one of the most restricted states in the country when it comes to the the issue. 

"I no longer want to see discrimination against religious organizations and those who support their mission," Rupp said on his website. "In our great country, we have the right and freedom to support the associations of our choice, and those organizations should receive the same constitutional benefits that any other organization would receive."

If passed, the resolution would be put on the November ballot for Missouri voters to decide. 

According to an OzarksFirst.com report, the legislation would repeal a portion of the "Blaine Amendment" from the state constitution.

From the report:

Although the Blaine Amendment is intended to enforce the separation between church and state, Rupp argues that religious schools are put at a disadvantage compared to other secular private schools that enjoy limited subsidies from the state ...

Blain amendments or provisions appear in 38 state constitutions, named for Republican lawmaker James G. Blaine, who popularized the amendments in the late 1800s. He sought unsuccessfully to have the bill written into the federal constitution as a means of codifying the first amendment's widely interpreted separation of church and state.

For more on the resolution, CLICK HERE. To read Rupp's explanation of the issue, CLICK HERE.