Submitted to the Editor, The Denver Post By Email.

Dear Editor, Talk about having it both ways. Jim Towey (“Obama can’t have it both ways on faith-based hiring,” August 18) suggests that faith-based groups who take government funds to provide taxpayer-funded services should also be free to discriminate in hiring people to administer those funds. Towey fails to make the key distinction between legitimate faith-based hiring for religious purposes — funded by the faith groups themselves — and taxpayer-funded hiring for government social programs administered by faith groups. Contrary to Towey’s assertions, there is nothing unfair about demanding that government funds be used in non-discriminatory ways.

The Head Start preschool program has been run that way for decades, where religious organizations have partnered with the government WITHOUT discrimination in hiring. The rationale for such a rule in our democracy is simple fairness: No American should be denied a government-funded job because of his or her religious beliefs.

Bruce H. DeBoskey Regional Director Anti-Defamation League