Six GOP contenders pledge to pass anti-gay First Amendment Defense Act

The so-called “First Amendment Defense Act” (FADA) is a proposal by right-wing Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) and tea-party conservative Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to make anti-gay discrimination legal if based on “religious belief or moral conviction.”

The official summary at www.Congress.gov says the act “Prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”

The text of the bill itself makes it clear that the act should be interpreted broadly as a “protection of free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this Act and the Constitution.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), HR 2802/S 1598, the First Amendment Defense Act, is “Tantamount to state sanctioned discrimination. On its face, this bill would prohibit discrimination by the federal government based on individual beliefs about same-sex marriage. In reality, this bill would allow nonprofit organizations and businesses contracting with the federal government to circumvent critical federal protections designed to protect same-sex couples and their families from harmful discrimination. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in U.S. v. Windros and Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex married couples are entitled to all federal spousal benefits regardless of where they live. Under FADA, however, individual businesses could run roughshod over the civil rights of these couples and deny them the spousal benefits they have earned and deserve.”

Andy Towle, writing for Towleroad.com today, said, “On Friday, the American Principles Project, Heritage Action for America, and Family Research Council Action announced that Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee, had made a promise to pass a heinous anti-gay discrimination bill into law during their first 100 days in office. The bill would allow businesses and individuals to discriminate against gay people in the guise of ‘religious liberty.’

“The pledge:

“’If elected, I pledge to push for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) and sign it into law during the first 100 days of my term as President.’”

The Family Research Council, one of the sponsoring organizations, is identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The American Principles Project says on its website that it “believes that local and national policies that respect the dignity of the person will lead to a flourishing society,” and then exclude LGBT people from that equality by promoting marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and endorsing the freedom to practice and proclaim religion.” Their actions speak louder than their words, since their support of FADA would make it legal to discriminate, both against LGBT persons, and, on a broader scope, against unwed mothers struggling to raise their children.

Towleroad reports that The New York Times editorial board attaced the bill in an editorial on Saturday, “warning ‘that it would deliberately warp the bedrock principle of religious freedom under the Constitution.’

“They add:

“’As critics of the bill quickly pointed out, the measure’s broad language — which also protects those who believe that “sexual relations are properly reserved to” heterosexual marriages alone — would permit discrimination against anyone who has sexual relations outside such a marriage. That would appear to include women who have children outside of marriage, a class generally protected by federal law.

“’This bizarre fixation on what grown-ups do in their bedrooms — which has long since been rejected by the Supreme Court and the vast majority of Americans — is bad enough. The bill makes matters worse by covering for-profit companies, which greatly multiplies the potential scope of discrimination against gays and lesbians.’”

“Though the bill’s chances are slim,” says Towleroad, citing that co-sponsors number 148 in the House, and 36 in the Senate, all Republicans except for Rep. Daniel Lipiniski (D-IL). “it has been endorsed by the Republican National Committee….”

The website concludes, the endorsement by the RNC and the GOP candidates, “should serve as a warning that the fight to retain LGBT rights and protections is far from over and we must continue to be vigilant against efforts to take them away from us.”

The Gayly – December 20, 2015 @ 2:10 p.m.