Marriage and Religious Freedom Act

To prevent adverse treatment of any person on the basis of views held with respect to marriage. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act 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 legislatively addressed. (2) As the President stated in response to the decision of the United States Supreme Court on the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, Americans hold a wide range of views maintaining our Nation’s commitment to religious freedom vital (3) Protecting religious freedom from Government intrusion is a Government interest of the highest order. Legislatively enacted measures advance 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 United States Constitution. (4) Laws that protect the free exercise of religious beliefs about marriage will encourage private citizens and institutions to demonstrate similar tolerance and therefore contribute to a more respectful, diverse, and peaceful society. 3. Protection of the free exercise of religious beliefs (a) In general The Federal Government shall not take an adverse action against a person, on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief 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. (b) Adverse action defined As used in subsection (a), an adverse action means any action taken by the Federal Government— (1) acting through the Administrator of the Internal Revenue Service, to— (A) deny or revoke an exemption from taxation under section 501 (B) disallow a deduction for Federal tax purposes of any charitable contribution made to or by such person; (2) to deny or exclude such person from receiving any Federal grant, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, or other similar position or status; (3) to deny or withhold from such person any benefit under a Federal benefit program; or (4) to otherwise discriminate against such person. 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 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) Attorneys’ fees Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes ( 42 U.S.C. 1988(b) Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, (c) Authority of United States To enforce this act The Attorney General of the United States may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief 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. 5. Rules of construction (a) Broad construction This Act shall be construed in favor of a broad protection of religious beliefs, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this Act and the Constitution. (b) No preemption, repeal, or narrow construction Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt State law, or repeal Federal law, that is equally as protective of religious beliefs as, or more protective of religious beliefs than, this Act. Nothing in this Act shall be considered to construe any State or Federal law protecting religious beliefs more narrowly than such law otherwise would be construed. (c) 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. 6. Definitions In this Act: (1) Federal benefit program The term Federal benefit program section 552a (2) Federal Government The term Federal Government (3) Person The term person section 1

Summary: Marriage and Religious Freedom Act - Prohibits the federal government from taking an adverse action against a person on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief 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. Defines "adverse action" as any federal government action to discriminate against such person, including: (1) denying or revoking certain tax exemptions or disallowing a deduction of any charitable contribution made to or by such person; (2) denying or excluding such person from receiving any federal grant, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, or similar position or status; or (3) denying or withholding any benefit under a federal benefit program. Permits a person to assert an actual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and to obtain compensatory damages or other appropriate relief against the federal government. Authorizes the Attorney General (DOJ) to bring actions to enforce this Act. Specifies that the term "person" includes any person regardless of religious affiliation, as well as corporations and other entities regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status.