Marriage and Religious Freedom Act attempts to drag America backwards

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund Executive Director Rea Carey is calling the introduction of the so-called Marriage and Religious Freedom Act as an “attempt to drag America backwards.”

Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced the controversial legislation yesterday.

Under the Act, the IRS would not be allowed to revoke the tax exempt status of an organization that discriminates on the grounds of sexual orientation. The bill’s introduction comes 30 years after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Bob Jones University v. United States, that the religion clauses of the First Amendment do not prohibit the IRS from revoking the tax exempt status of a university that discriminated on the basis of race.

“As America moves forward, some politicians in the House are so out of touch that they want to drag America backwards with a bill that is totally out of step with public opinion and our laws,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund. “Certainly we must protect the rights of people to their religious beliefs, but our constitutional separation of church and state already protects these rights. There is no need for additional legislation that would authorize federal employees and contractors to discriminate against married same-sex couples based on their particular religious beliefs,” Carey stressed.