† HR 8404 EAS 
‘‘§ 7. Marriage 
‘‘(a) For the purposes of any Federal law, rule, or reg-
ulation in which marital status is a factor, an individual 
shall be considered married if that individual’s marriage 
is between 2 individuals and is valid in the State where 
the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage 
entered into outside any State, if the marriage is between 
2 individuals and is valid in the place where entered into 
and the marriage could have been entered into in a State. 
‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘State’ means a State, 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
or any other territory or possession of the United States. 
‘‘(c) For purposes of subsection (a), in determining 
whether a marriage is valid in a State or the place where 
entered into, if outside of any State, only the law of the 
jurisdiction applicable at the time the marriage was entered 
into may be considered.’’. 
SEC. 6. NO IMPACT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND CON-
SCIENCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act, or any amend-
ment made by this Act, shall be construed to diminish or 
abrogate a religious liberty or conscience protection other-
wise available to an individual or organization under the 
Constitution of the United States or Federal law. 
(b) GOODS OR SERVICES.—Consistent with the First 
Amendment to the Constitution, nonprofit religious organi-
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zations, including churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, 
nondenominational ministries, interdenominational and 
ecumenical organizations, mission organizations, faith- 
based social agencies, religious educational institutions, 
and nonprofit entities whose principal purpose is the study, 
practice, or advancement of religion, and any employee of 
such an organization, shall not be required to provide serv-
ices, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or 
privileges for the solemnization or celebration of a mar-
riage. Any refusal under this subsection to provide such 
services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or 
privileges shall not create any civil claim or cause of action. 
SEC. 7. STATUTORY PROHIBITION. 
(a) NO IMPACT ON STATUS AND BENEFITS NOT ARIS-
ING FROM A MARRIAGE.—Nothing in this Act, or any 
amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to deny 
or alter any benefit, status, or right of an otherwise eligible 
entity or person which does not arise from a marriage, in-
cluding tax-exempt status, tax treatment, educational fund-
ing, or a grant, contract, agreement, guarantee, loan, schol-
arship, license, certification, accreditation, claim, or de-
fense. 
(b) NO FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF POLYGAMOUS MAR-
RIAGES.—Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by
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this Act, shall be construed to require or authorize Federal 
recognition of marriages between more than 2 individuals. 
SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, or any amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of such provision to any per-
son, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be un-
constitutional, the remainder of this Act, or any amend-
ment made thereby, or the application of such provision to 
all other persons, entities, governments, or circumstances, 
shall not be affected thereby. 
Attest: 
Secretary.