I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3133 
To prevent adverse treatment of any person on the basis of views held 
with respect to marriage. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 
Mr. LABRADOR (for himself, Mr. PITTS, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. 
SCALISE, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. 
LIPINSKI, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. BRIDENSTINE, Mr. DAINES, Mr. BOU-
STANY, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. COL-
LINS of New York, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. WALBERG, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. 
HULTGREN, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. HARPER, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. 
CRAMER, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. 
ROKITA, Mr. SANFORD, Mr. MARINO, Mr. LONG, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, 
Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. FLORES, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. JOR-
DAN, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. STUTZMAN, 
Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. SALMON, Mr. COTTON, Mr. KELLY 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. MILLER of Flor-
ida, Mr. BENTIVOLIO, Mr. HALL, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. LAM-
BORN, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. ROTHFUS, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. 
CHAFFETZ, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. STEWART, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, 
Mr. CHABOT, Mr. SOUTHERLAND, Mr. JONES, and Mrs. LUMMIS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent adverse treatment of any person on the basis 
of views held with respect to marriage. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marriage and Religious 
Freedom 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 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’’ on the issue of same-sex 
marriage, and ‘‘maintaining our Nation’s commit-
ment to religious freedom’’ is ‘‘vital’’. 
(3) Protecting religious freedom from Govern-
ment intrusion is a Government interest of the high-
est 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 Constitu-
tion. 
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(4) Laws that protect the free exercise of reli-
gious beliefs about marriage will encourage private 
citizens and institutions to demonstrate similar tol-
erance and therefore contribute to a more respectful, 
diverse, and peaceful society. 
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELI-
GIOUS 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 sub-
section (a), an adverse action means any action taken by 
the Federal Government— 
(1) acting through the Administrator of the In-
ternal Revenue Service, to— 
(A) deny or revoke an exemption from tax-
ation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 of such person; or 
(B) disallow a deduction for Federal tax 
purposes of any charitable contribution made to 
or by such person; 
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(2) to deny or exclude such person from receiv-
ing any Federal grant, contract, cooperative agree-
ment, loan, license, certification, accreditation, em-
ployment, 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 per-
son. 
SEC. 4. JUDICIAL RELIEF. 
(a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—A person may assert an ac-
tual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or de-
fense in a judicial proceeding and obtain compensatory 
damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or any other 
appropriate relief against the Federal Government. Stand-
ing 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 Re-
vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘Marriage and Religious Freedom Act,’’ after ‘‘the Re-
ligious 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 
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enforce compliance with this Act. Nothing in this sub-
section 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 sub-
section, to institute or intervene in any proceeding. 
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) BROAD CONSTRUCTION.—This Act shall be con-
strued 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 CON-
STRUCTION.—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 pro-
tecting religious beliefs more narrowly than such law oth-
erwise would be construed. 
(c) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 
any application of such provision to any person or cir-
cumstance 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. 
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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 GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral Government’’ includes a branch, department, 
agency, instrumentality, or official of the United 
States. 
(3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 1 of title 1, 
United States Code, and includes any person regard-
less of religious affiliation or lack thereof, and re-
gardless of for-profit or nonprofit status. 
Æ 
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