First Amendment Defense Act

Summary: First Amendment Defense Act This bill prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person speaks 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 two individuals as recognized under federal law, or (2) sexual relations outside marriage are improper. The bill defines "person" as any person regardless of religious affiliation, except publicly traded for-profit entities; federal employees acting within the scope of their employment; federal for-profit contractors acting within the scope of their contract; or hospitals and other health care entities with respect to visitation, recognition of a designated representative for health care decisions, or refusal to provide medical treatment necessary to cure an illness or injury.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``First Amendment Defense Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Leading legal scholars concur that conflicts between 
        same-sex marriage and religious liberty are real and should be 
        addressed through legislation.
            (2) As President Obama stated in response to the decision 
        of the Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 
        2675 (2013), ``Americans hold a wide range of views'' on the 
        issue of same-sex marriage, and ``maintaining our Nation's 
        commitment to religious freedom'' is ``vital''.
            (3) Nevertheless, in 2015, when asked whether a religious 
        school could lose its tax-exempt status for opposing same-sex 
        marriage, the Solicitor General of the United States Donald 
        Verrilli represented to the United States Supreme Court that 
        ``[i]t's certainly going to be an issue''.
            (4) Protecting religious freedom from government intrusion 
        is a government interest of the highest order. Legislation 
        advances this interest by remedying, deterring, and preventing 
        government interference with religious exercise in a way that 
        complements the protections mandated by the First Amendment to 
        the Constitution of the United States.
            (5) Laws that protect the free exercise of religious 
        beliefs and moral convictions about marriage will encourage 
        private citizens and institutions to demonstrate tolerance for 
        those beliefs and convictions and therefore contribute to a 
        more respectful, diverse, and peaceful society.
            (6) In a pluralistic society, in which people of good faith 
        hold more than one view of marriage, it is possible for the 
        government to recognize same-sex marriage as required by the 
        United States Supreme Court without forcing persons with 
        sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions to the 
        contrary to conform.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL 
              CONVICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a 
person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person speaks, or 
acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral 
conviction, that--
            (1) marriage is or should be recognized as a union of--
                    (A) one man and one woman; or
                    (B) two individuals as recognized under Federal 
                law; or
            (2) sexual relations outside marriage are improper.
    (b) Discriminatory Action Defined.--As used in subsection (a), a 
discriminatory action means any action taken by the Federal Government 
to--
            (1) alter in any way the Federal tax treatment of, or cause 
        any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or deny, 
        delay, or revoke an exemption from taxation under section 
        501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of, any person 
        referred to in subsection (a);
            (2) disallow a deduction for Federal tax purposes of any 
        charitable contribution made to or by such person;
            (3) withhold, reduce the amount or funding for, exclude, 
        terminate, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, any Federal 
        grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, guarantee, 
        loan, scholarship, license, certification, accreditation, 
        employment, or other similar position or status from or to such 
        person;
            (4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make 
        unavailable or deny, any entitlement or benefit under a Federal 
        benefit program, including admission to, equal treatment in, or 
        eligibility for a degree from an educational program, from or 
        to such person; or
            (5) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make 
        unavailable or deny, access or an entitlement to Federal 
        property, facilities, educational institutions, speech fora 
        (including traditional, limited, and nonpublic fora), or 
        charitable fundraising campaigns from or to such person.
    (c) Accreditation; Licensure; Certification.--The Federal 
Government shall consider accredited, licensed, or certified for 
purposes of Federal law any person that would be accredited, licensed, 
or certified, respectively, for such purposes but for a determination 
against such person wholly or partially on the basis that the person 
speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief 
or moral conviction described in subsection (a).

SEC. 4. JUDICIAL RELIEF.

    (a) Cause of Action.--A person may assert an actual or threatened 
violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial or 
administrative proceeding and obtain compensatory damages, injunctive 
relief, declaratory relief, or any other appropriate relief against the 
Federal Government. Standing to assert a claim or defense under this 
section shall be governed by the general rules of standing under 
article III of the Constitution.
    (b) Administrative Remedies Not Required.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, an action under this section may be commenced, 
and relief may be granted, in a district court of the United States 
without regard to whether the person commencing the action has sought 
or exhausted available administrative remedies.
    (c) Attorneys' Fees.--Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 
U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ``the First Amendment Defense 
Act,'' after ``the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act 
of 2000,''.
    (d) Authority of United States To Enforce This Act.--The Attorney 
General may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief 
against an independent establishment described in section 104(1) of 
title 5, United States Code, or an officer or employee of that 
independent establishment, to enforce compliance with this Act. Nothing 
in this subsection shall be construed to deny, impair, or otherwise 
affect any right or authority of the Attorney General, the United 
States, or any agency, officer, or employee of the United States, 
acting under any law other than this subsection, to institute or 
intervene in any proceeding.

SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) No Preemption, Repeal, or Narrow Construction.--Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to preempt State law, or repeal Federal law, 
that is equally or more protective of free exercise of religious 
beliefs and moral convictions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to narrow the meaning or application of any State or Federal law 
protecting free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions.
    (b) No Prevention of Providing Benefits or Services.--Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to prevent the Federal Government from 
providing, either directly or through a person not seeking protection 
under this Act, any benefit or service authorized under Federal law.
    (c) No Affirmation or Endorsement of Views.--Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to affirm or otherwise endorse a person's belief, 
speech, or action about marriage.
    (d) No Impact on Definition.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to alter the definition of marriage for Federal or State 
purposes.
    (e) Severability.--If any provision of this Act or any application 
of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of the 
provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Federal benefit program.--The term ``Federal benefit 
        program'' has the meaning given that term in section 552a of 
        title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Federal; federal government.--The terms ``Federal'' and 
        ``Federal Government'' include--
                    (A) any department, commission, board, or other 
                agency of the Federal Government;
                    (B) any officer, employee, or agent of the Federal 
                Government; and
                    (C) the District of Columbia and all Federal 
                territories and possessions.
            (3) Person.--The term ``person'' means a person as defined 
        in section 1 of title 1, United States Code, except that such 
        term shall not include--
                    (A) publicly traded for-profit entities;
                    (B) Federal employees acting within the scope of 
                their employment;
                    (C) Federal for-profit contractors acting within 
                the scope of their contract; or
                    (D) hospitals, clinics, hospices, nursing homes, or 
                other medical or residential custodial facilities with 
                respect to visitation, recognition of a designated 
                representative for health care decisionmaking, or 
                refusal to provide medical treatment necessary to cure 
                an illness or injury.