I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2802 
To prevent discriminatory treatment of any person on the basis of views 
held with respect to marriage. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 17, 2015 
Mr. LABRADOR (for himself, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. SES-
SIONS, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. CRAMER, 
Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of 
Texas, Mr. SANFORD, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. ROTHFUS, Mr. FRANKS of 
Arizona, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. SMITH
of Texas, Mr. 
PITTENGER, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia, Mr. MARCH-
ANT, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. PALMER, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. 
ALLEN, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. PITTS, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. MIL-
LER of Florida, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. FINCHER, Mr. SALMON, Mr. WEST-
MORELAND, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HARRIS, 
Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. KELLY of Penn-
sylvania, Mr. BABIN, Mr. YOHO, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. 
PALAZZO, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. ROUZER, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. BRAT, 
Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mrs. 
LOVE, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. ADERHOLT, and Mr. STEWART) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight 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 jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent discriminatory 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 ‘‘First Amendment De-
fense 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 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 commitment to reli-
gious 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 represented to the United States 
Supreme Court that ‘‘[i]t’s certainly going to be an 
issue’’. 
(4) Protecting religious freedom from Govern-
ment intrusion is a Government interest of the high-
est order. Legislatively enacted measures advance 
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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 reli-
gious beliefs and moral convictions about marriage 
will encourage private citizens and institutions to 
demonstrate tolerance for those beliefs and convic-
tions and therefore contribute to a more respectful, 
diverse, and peaceful society. 
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELI-
GIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL CONVICTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Federal Government shall not take any 
discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially 
on the basis that such person believes or acts in accord-
ance with a religious belief or moral conviction that mar-
riage is or should be recognized as the union of one man 
and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly re-
served to such a marriage. 
(b) DISCRIMINATORY ACTION DEFINED.—As used in 
subsection (a), a discriminatory action means any action 
taken by the Federal Government to— 
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(1) alter in any way the Federal tax treatment 
of, or cause any tax, penalty, or payment to be as-
sessed against, or deny, delay, or revoke an exemp-
tion from taxation under section 501(a) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 of, any person referred to 
in subsection (a); 
(2) disallow a deduction for Federal tax pur-
poses of any charitable contribution made to or by 
such person; 
(3) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or oth-
erwise deny any Federal grant, contract, sub-
contract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, cer-
tification, accreditation, employment, or other simi-
lar position or status from or to such person; 
(4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or oth-
erwise deny any benefit under a Federal benefit pro-
gram from or to such person; or 
(5) otherwise discriminate against such person. 
(c) ACCREDITATION; LICENSURE; CERTIFICATION.— 
The Federal Government shall consider accredited, li-
censed, or certified for purposes of Federal law any person 
that would be accredited, licensed, or certified, respec-
tively, for such purposes but for a determination against 
such person wholly or partially on the basis that the per-
son believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief 
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or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recog-
nized as the union of one man and one woman, or that 
sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. 
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 or administrative proceeding and obtain 
compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory re-
lief, 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 United States district court without regard 
to whether the person commencing the action has sought 
or exhausted available administrative remedies. 
(c) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re-
vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘the First Amendment Defense Act,’’ after ‘‘the Reli-
gious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 
2000,’’. 
(d) AUTHORITY OF UNITED STATES TO ENFORCE 
THIS ACT.—The Attorney General may bring an action 
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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. Noth-
ing 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 em-
ployee of the United States, acting under any law other 
than this subsection, to institute or intervene in any pro-
ceeding. 
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) BROAD CONSTRUCTION.—This Act shall be con-
strued in favor of a broad protection of free exercise of 
religious beliefs and moral convictions, to the maximum 
extent permitted by the terms of this Act and the Con-
stitution. 
(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 
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 Fed-
eral law protecting free exercise of religious beliefs and 
moral convictions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to prevent the Federal Government from providing, either 
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directly or through a person not seeking protection under 
this Act, any benefit or service authorized under Federal 
law. 
(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. 
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 each authority of any 
branch of the Government of the United States. 
(3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a per-
son as defined in section 1 of title 1, United States 
Code, and includes any such person regardless of re-
ligious affiliation or lack thereof, and regardless of 
for-profit or nonprofit status. 
Æ 
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