Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules in two pivotal same-sex marriage cases next week, lawmakers are intent on protecting the religious liberty of all Americans by introducing a law that will prohibit the federal government from punishing believers who refuse to participate in same-sex weddings.
According to the office of Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID), the First Amendment Defense Act (S. 1598, H.R. 2802) is intended to clarify and strengthen religious liberty protections in federal law, by safeguarding those individuals and institutions who promote traditional marriage from government retaliation.
Specifically, the new law would prevent any federal agency from denying a tax exemption, grant, contract, license, or certification to an individual, association, or business based on their belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. For example, the bill would prohibit the IRS from stripping a church of its tax exemption for refusing to officiate same-sex weddings.
“There’s a reason the right to religious liberty appears first in our nation’s Bill of Rights,” said Senator Lee.
“The freedom to live and to act in accordance with the dictates of one’s conscience and religious convictions is integral to human flourishing, serving as the foundation upon which America has produced the most diverse, tolerant, and stable society the world has ever known. The vast majority of Americans today still hold a robust view of religious liberty, yet across the country the right of conscience is threatened by state and local governments that coerce, intimidate, and penalize individuals, associations, and businesses who believe that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. The First Amendment Defense Act is necessary to ensure that this kind of government excess never occurs at the federal level.”
There are currently 18 co-sponsors on the Senate bill and 57 co-sponsors on the House companion bill.
In spite of what proponents of same-sex marriage will say, “Our bill shields against federal intrusion without taking anything away from anyone,” Labrador said. “In a shifting landscape, it’s time that Congress proactively defend this sacred right.”
The U.S. bishops are vigorously supporting the law and have sent a joint letter of support to each of the sponsors, noting that “persons who believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman are increasingly having their religious liberties jeopardized and even forfeited.”
“It is becoming apparent that some who promote marriage redefinition do not support the coexistence and tolerance of different ideas in a pluralistic society but instead have a ‘comply or else’ agenda,” said the letter, signed by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.
Despite the bill’s aim at fairness, activists are already attacking it. For instance, an article appearing on the gay news site, Towelroad, uses the usual inflammatory language, calling the bill an “anti-LGBT, license-to-discriminate measure” that is backed by “anti-LGBT hate groups including the National Organization for Marriage”.
As the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue so aptly states, “It is precisely because of people like them that the Act is necessary.”
He added: “It is a sad day when congressional legislation is needed to protect the First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty. But the attacks are mounting and more laws are needed.”
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