Conservative leaders are calling on senators to reject the House-passed Respect for Marriage Act, which seeks to codify into federal law the Supreme Court’s 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.
“The law, which was suddenly rushed through the House without any public hearing or input, is an attack on millions of Americans, especially believers, who believe marriage is between a man and a woman.” , wrote more than 80 conservative leaders, along with the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, in a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, on Tuesday.
The authors of the letter believe the bill would threaten the religious freedom rights of individuals and groups across the country if it becomes law.
While the bill “does not change the status or benefits accorded to same-sex marriage in light of Obergefell, it does put believers at great risk,” they wrote.
Signatories include Michael Farris, President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom; Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation; Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Center for Ethics and Public Policy; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; Craig DeRoche, President and CEO of the Family Policy Alliance; and Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family. (The Daily Signal is the medium of the Heritage Foundation.)
The letter’s authors noted that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito correctly predicted that the Obergefell decision would be “used to vilify Americans who do not want to endorse the new orthodoxy,” as the judge wrote in his dissent. to the case of 2015.
The Respect for Marriage Act, argued conservative activists, could “require federal recognition of any definition of marriage without any parameters.” They also fear that the bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president, could encourage left-wing activist groups to sue individuals and organizations that do not conform to the definition of marriage. of HR 8404.
The Conservative Action Bill, in a separate statement released Tuesday urging senators to oppose the Respect for Marriage Act, cited previous lawsuits.
He highlighted the case of Barronelle Stutzman, a florist who was sued by Washington state after she refused to create flower arrangements for a gay wedding. Alliance Defending Freedom asked the Supreme Court to hear his case in 2017. Four years later, Stutzman settled his case and retired after the High Court twice rejected his appeal.
The authors of the Conservative Action Project statement also cited the cases of bakers Jack Phillips and Aaron and Melissa Klein, in Colorado and Oregon, respectively, who were prosecuted for refusing to design cakes for same-sex weddings.
The authors of the statement fear that these cases are just the beginning, writing: “The Court’s decision in the Obergefell case has sparked religious freedom violations across the country, launching a new era of harassment and coercion. of millions of Americans who have a sincere religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is, or should be, between a man and a woman.
The Conservative Action Project statement collected the signatures of more than 80 conservative leaders, many of whom also signed the Alliance Defending Freedom letter to McConnell. Signatories include Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan, Distinguished Fellow Emeritus of the Heritage Foundation; the Perkins of the Family Research Council; and Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project.
According to the statement, the Respect for Marriage Act would not only “increase the threat of legal liability for those who refuse to affirm same-sex marriage, but it would help cement a ‘national public policy’ on same-sex marriage that would have far-reaching consequences. dramatic.”
Commenting on the coalition letter to McConnell, Farris remarked:
Despite the claims of its sponsors, the so-called “respecting marriage law” does not merely codify the Obergefell decision. It obliges the federal government to recognize without limit any definition of marriage adopted by a State.
It also allows the government to punish millions of Americans who hold decent and honorable beliefs about marriage – beliefs that have existed since time immemorial – exposing citizens to predatory lawsuits and even endangering nonprofit status. faith-based organizations.
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Here is a complete list of those who signed the Alliance Defending Freedom letter to McConnell:
Michael P. Farris
President and CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom
Ryan T.Anderson
President, Center for Ethics and Public Policy
Craig DeRoche
President and CEO, Family Policy Alliance
Franklin Graham
President and CEO, Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
John Stonestreet
President, Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Kelly Shackelford
President, CEO and Chief Counsel, First Liberty Institute
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld
President, Coalition for Jewish Values
Kevin Roberts
President, The Heritage Foundation
Tony Perkins
Chair, Family Research Council
Jim Daly
Chair, Focus on Family
Penny Nance
CEO and Chair, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
R. Albert Mohler Jr.
president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
David Nammo
executive director, Christian Legal Society
Staver rug
Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
Terry Schilling
President, American Principles Project
Jeff Myers
Chair, Summit Ministries
Thomas Farre
President, Religious Liberty Institute
Steven W. Fitschen
President, National Law Foundation
John W. White III
President, Lifeshape Inc.
Katy Faust
Founder and Director, Them Before Us
larry taylor
President, Association of International Christian Schools
mike rouse
President, American Association of Christian Schools
Jim Minnery
President, Alaska Family Action
jerry cox
Chairman, Family Council of Arkansas
Brian Burch
president, catholic vote
Shannon Royce
President, Christian Employers Alliance
Paul S. Teller
executive director, Advancing American Freedom
Ed Corrigan
President and CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute
mike sharrow
CEO, C12 Group
David S. Dockery
President, International Alliance for Christian Education
Philip E. Dearborn
President, Association for Biblical Higher Education
Cathi Herrod
President, Center for Arizona Policy
Jonathan Keller
President and CEO, California Family Council
Peter Wolfgang
Executive Director, Connecticut Family Institute
Nicole Theis
Chairman, Delaware Family Policy Council
John Stemberger
President, Florida Family Policy Council
Cole Muzio
President, Frontline Policy Action of Georgia
Eva Andrade
President and CEO, Hawaii Family Forum
Jim Hochberg
President, Hawaii Family Advocates
Bob Vander Plaats
president and chief executive officer, the head of the family
Blaine Conzatti
President, Idaho Family Policy Center
David E.Smith,
Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Ryan McCann
executive director, Indiana Family Institute
Jeff Bennet
executive director, Kansas Family Voice
David Walls
Executive Director, The Family Foundation
gene mills
President, Louisiana Family Forum
Andrew Beckwith
President and General Counsel, Massachusetts Family Institute
Carroll Conley
executive director, Christian Civic League of Maine
Jeff Hewson
Executive Director, Michigan Family Forum
John Helmberger
Executive Director, Minnesota Family Council
jameson taylor
President, Center for Political Renewal
Jannique Stewart
Executive Director, Missouri Family Foundation
Jeff Lazloffy
President, Montana Family Foundation
John L. Rustin
Chairman, North Carolina Family Policy Council
Tami L. Fitzgerald
executive director, North Carolina Values Coalition
Bowling Karen
Executive Director, Nebraska Family Alliance
Caroline England
President, Nevada Family Alliance Capitol Resource Institute
Shannon McGinley
Executive Director, Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire
Len Deo
Founder, Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey
Jodi Hendricks
Executive Director, Family Action Movement of New Mexico
Jason J. McGuire
executive director, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
Aaron Baer
President, Center for Christian Virtue
Michael Geer
President, Family Council of Pennsylvania
David Aucoin
Executive Director, Rhode Island Family Advocate
David Wilson
President and Executive Director, Palmetto Family Council
Norman wood
Managing Director, Family Heritage Alliance
David Fowler
President, Tennessee Family Action Council
Jonathan Saenz
President, Texas Values
Victoria Cobb
President, Virginia Family Foundation
James A. Davids
Chief Counsel, Founding Freedoms Law Center
Caiden Cowger
President, Family Policy Council of West Virginia
Julaine K.Appling
President, Wisconsin Family Action
Nathan Winters
Executive Director, Wyoming Family Policy Alliance
Robert M. Myers
President, Toccoa Falls College
Donald Sweeting
President, Colorado Christian University
Jeff Hunt
Director, Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University
Kent J. Ingle
President, Southeastern University
Ben Merkel
President, New Saint Andrews College
Troy A. Shoemaker
President, Pensacola Christian College
Barbara C. McMillin
President, Blue Mountain College
Jason K. Allen
President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College
Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver
President, Union University
Glenn C. Arbery
President, Catholic College of Wyoming
