Rep. Raul Labrador
A group of lawmakers on the Hill introduced a new bill yesterday that is aimed at protecting religious institutions and other organizations that support traditional marriage from being discriminated against by the federal government.
The Hill is reporting that Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) introduced the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act which “ensures that any religious institution, organization or church that believes that marriage should continue to remain between one man and one woman will not be discriminated against by the federal government.”
Labrador crafted the bill in response to recent Supreme Court rulings that declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and to allow the federal government to grant marriage benefits to same-sex couples who were married in a state that recognizes the unions.
According to the Washington Post, Labrador’s fear is that the IRS and other federal agencies might begin to unfairly target groups that oppose same-sex marriage. For this reason, lawmakers went to work immediately after the rulings to debate how to protect traditional marriage supporters.
“Some people looked at overturning it, or doing a constitutional amendment. I looked at the immediate need, which is the protection of religious institutions and churches, so that they can continue practicing their religion as they see fit,” Labrado said.
“ . . . (W)e have already seen the increased attack and discrimination of institutions at the state level, and we just want to ensure that it does not happen at the federal level.”
He continued: “I believe the Constitution protects these institutions but I just want to make sure that it’s in the law, that it’s 100 percent sure, that people have no question about it.”
Homosexual activists are already attacking the proposal.
“The federal government isn’t discriminating against religious groups or people of faith as it implements the Supreme Court’s decision striking down DOMA. And there’s no reason to believe that it ever will,” said Fred Sainz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign.
“This legislation’s real purpose is to let federal employees, contractors and grantees refuse to do their jobs or fulfill the terms of their taxpayer-funded contracts because they have a particular religious view about certain lawfully-married couples – and then to sue the federal government for damages if they don’t get their way.”
The bill appears to be gaining steam in Congress. Thus far, it has 60 co-sponsors, all Republicans with the exception of two socially conservative Democrats: Reps. Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Dan Lipinski (Ill.).
Labrador is confident the bill can pass because it is narrowly drafted and appeals to lawmakers of all parties who are concerned about the increasing intrusion of government into the lives of Americans.
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