According to the Advocate and Think Progress, the majority of the GOP candidates for president are terribly confused about religious freedom and civil contract law. Six of those candidates (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee) have backed the First Amendment Defense Act. This is essentially a federal-level “RFRA” (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) bill that would legalize LGBT discrimination disguised as a protection of religious freedom.
The legislation would block the federal government from interfering with people or businesses which believe 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.”
The problem with such a bill is clear. If someone, anyone, wants to belong to a church whose clergy do not perform same-sex marriages, that is absolutely fine by me, as it represents a simple expression of religious freedom. However, this proposed legislation would go far beyond that, extending into the civil contract of marriage, which has nothing to do with religion. Let’s remember that a marriage license, a legal two-party contract, is granted by the state, not by any church or religious organization.
According to the Think Progress, “instead of protecting ‘gay marriage dissenters,’ FADA gives people and businesses license to openly discriminate against same sex couples. If it were to pass, it would mean that government workers could refuse to perform their duties, and businesses and organizations — including those that operate with the support of taxpayer dollars — would be free to discriminate. The American Civil Liberties Union has called it ‘a Pandora’s Box of taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex couples and their children.’ ”