BOM15716 S.L.C.

114

TH

CONGRESS 1

ST

S

ESSION

 

S.

 ll

To ensure that the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person believes, speaks, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recog-nized as the union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

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introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

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A BILL

To ensure that the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or par-tially on the basis that such person believes, speaks, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious  belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should  be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

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BOM15716 S.L.C.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘First Amendment De-

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fense Act’’.

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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

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Congress finds the following:

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(1) Leading legal scholars concur that conflicts

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 between same-sex marriage and religious liberty are

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real and should be addressed through legislation.

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(2) As the President stated in response to the

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decision of the Supreme Court in United States v.

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 Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), ‘‘Americans hold

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a wide range of views’’ on the issue of same-sex

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marriage, and ‘‘maintaining our Nation’s commit-

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ment to religious freedom’’ is ‘‘vital’’.

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(3) Nevertheless, in 2015, when asked whether

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a religious school could lose its tax-exempt status for

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opposing same-sex marriage, the Solicitor General of

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the United States represented to the United States

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Supreme Court that ‘‘[i]t’s certainly going to be an

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issue’’.

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(4) Protecting religious freedom from govern-

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ment intrusion is a government interest of the high-

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est order. Legislation advances this interest by rem-

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edying, deterring, and preventing government inter-

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ference with religious exercise in a way that com-

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plements the protections mandated by the First

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BOM15716 S.L.C.

 Amendment to the Constitution of the United

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States.

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(5) Laws that protect the free exercise of reli-

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gious beliefs and moral convictions about marriage

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 will encourage private citizens and institutions to

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demonstrate tolerance for those beliefs and convic-

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tions and therefore contribute to a more respectful,

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diverse, and peaceful society.

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(6) In a pluralistic society, in which people of

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good faith hold more than one view of marriage, it

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is possible for the government to recognize same-sex

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marriage as required by the United States Supreme

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Court without forcing persons with sincerely held re-

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ligious beliefs or moral convictions to the contrary to

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conform.

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SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELI-

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GIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL CONVICTIONS.

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(a) I

N

G

ENERAL

.—Notwithstanding any other provi-

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sion of law, the Federal Government shall not take any

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discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially

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on the basis that such person believes, speaks, or acts in

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accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral

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conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the

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 union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations

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are properly reserved to such a marriage.

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