Hensley, Nicole. "Religious Freedoms at Heart of Same-sex Marriage Battle."NY Daily News.

N.p.,2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

On the eve of a Supreme Court decision on the ruling of the issue of same-sex marriage multiple
state legislatures across the states have put in place many bills to introduced and/or voted on.
Waves of anti-gay bills are being introduced by conservative politicians into state
legislatures (Hensley) Conservative politicians want to push their religious beliefs on the
population within their state. Even in states where the LGBTQ community has won the right to
marry, the conservative parties wish to make the state uphold the ideals behind traditional
marriage.
These proposed bills will affect many aspects of the gay community; not just on the issue
of marriage but on a largely captivating range of prospects. Prohibition for same-sex couples to
adopt: regardless of the couples economic status or the livability of their home, some
conservative politicians would rather see orphan children continue being orphans than find them
humble homes to live in. Other bills would penalize government officials who issue same-sex
marriage licenses and create loopholes in the law to legally allow discrimination against the
LGBTQ community.
The conservative politicians picked up their fervor due to the Federal Religious Freedom
Restoration Act passed in 1990 in an effort to counteract a Supreme Court precedent based on the
case of Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith. Their efforts succeeded as their
short term goal was to revitalize the role of government and religious sects, but in later years it
has been used to discriminate. It was never meant to discriminate against other people.
(Hensley)
Same-Sex Marriage advocates are not too overly stressed about these new bills though.
Many of them believe that the bills will never reach a vote, and if they do they will be defeated
by a vast majority of votes; but the religious right is trying to go out in a bang. (Hensley) The
ACLU came to the defense of the LGBTQ advocates by pledging their support to any court
proceedings/battle these bills or proposals may cause.
United States. Cong. Senate. Judiciary. Congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill. By Diane
Feinstein. 114th Cong., 1st sess. S. Bill. N.p., 06 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Senate Bill No.291 02/23/15 [Proper Citation Needed]
To summarize the amending bill to the Respect for Marriage Act (Senate Bill 29) we have to
look at the prospects of the same-sex marriage debate. The original Respect for Marriage Act
was an attempt by the Christian Right to help refine marriage to their belief of traditional
marriage values. Diane Feinstein a strong Democrat elected in 1992 to represent California in
the United States Senate fostered the bill and introduced it to the Judiciary Committee. Her
proposal in the referral step (to the Judiciary Committee) of the process as it is a new bill
introduced on January 6th, 2015.
This is a proactive step by Senator Diane Feinstein, who while a Democrat likes to be the
moderator between the two parties and always voices for compromise. Her attempt to amend the

Respect for Marriage Act is a very leftist move on her part simply because it makes the effort
to redefine marriage, to include same-sex marriage in Federal views on marriage. The bill would
allow the Federal government to legally recognize valid same-sex couples in all states. State in
this bill is defined as all states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or
any other territory or possession of the United States. (Senate Bill 29)
Another amendment bill that is attempting to go through the California Senate is Senate
Bill 291. Its an attempt to amend Californias Health and Safety code. Currently the code allows
for some form of discrimination towards transgender people at least in the aspect of health code.
The bill would allow for representatives from ethnic, racial, LGBTQQ, women and people with
disabilities to regularly consult with the Health and Safety Board of California.
Walls, Eugene N., Michael R. Woodford, and Denise L. Levy. "Religious Tradition, Religiosity,
or Everyday Theories? Unpacking Religion's Relationship..." Login to Resources from
Off Campus. Religious Research Association, 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
In the past few decades support for the legalization of same-sex marriage has grown. 13 states
[in 2013] have recently allowed for same-sex marriage licenses to be issued by government
officials. (Walls, Woodford, Levy) At the time of this article only: California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York,
Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington were the only states to permit gay marriage. Since then,
this number has grown to 37 states (currently 74% of the states). Other states are in the middle of
judiciary hearings on the issue right now.
A study on college students determined that religiosity, devoutness, and the
importance of faith in ones life have heavy factors on the same-sex marriage debate. (Walls,
Woodford, Levy) The study makes a critique stating that studies that do not include all three
layers of religion are missing a crucial element in religions extraordinary power over the
controversial issue.
But as support for same-sex marriage has increased, many people want to observe what
factors had come in to play to change the American populations decision on the subject matter.
The article goes into some specifics about a generational shift that has and is currently occurring.
As the old go out and the new come in, the general acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals,
transgender and queers have gone up. The study fails to mention if a change in religious views
has factored in to change the young populations mind on same-sex marriage. Whatever the
case may be, this makes the young adult population important in the legalization campaign.
(Walls, Woodford, Levy)
The study delves deeper on the religious aspect by stating that many Americans affiliate
within Baptist and Catholic faith and the other 2,500 denomination of Christianity in the United
States. (Walls, Woodford, Levy). The study continues its claim with a separation between
belonging and believing in a particular faith there are sharper divides between each
denomination: family, tradition, and cultural/historical similarities. (Walls, Woodford, Levy)

Every denomination of any religion has different views on the world. The perception of
pain and suffering is another factor the goes in to determining the support of same-sex marriage
by religious folk. Groups who view suffering as self-imposed have a harsher viewpoint on the
same-sex marriage debate. Morally absolute believers feel that the idea of right and wrong
should be governed by gods law, and thus are interchangeable. This makes some people few
being gay as a choice, and thus a willing-full sin that god will pass judgment on strictly.
Social Gospel

Human Nature as Naturally

Sinful

Pain and Suffering Brought

on by Oneself

Moral Absolutism

Anti-Universalism

Gods Forgiveness is
Extended to all

Theres little difference that

religion can do for societys
problems. Thus religion
should seek to help
individuals.
Humans are by nature sinful
creatures and commit sinful
acts. Humans can redeem
themselves by rising above
their animalistic tendencies to
please god.
People usually put
themselves in positions that
bring suffering upon
themselves.
Right and wrong are to be
judged by gods laws, and
cannot be changed.
There is only one true
religion. And thus all virtues
of believing belong to that
one group.
God forgives all his
children.

INCREASED
SUPPORT OF
SAME-SEX
MARRIGE
DECREASED
SUPPORT OF
SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE

DECREASED
SUPPORT OF
SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE
DECREASED
SUPPORT OF
SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE
DECREASED
SUPPORT OF
SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE

INCREASED
SUPPORT OF
SAME-SEX
MARRIGE