WASHINGTON, March 23, 2018 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Senator Mike Lee has revised and hijacked the language of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which was originally designed to protect the free exercise of religion. The result is a Trojan horse that will do more harm than good. Liberty Counsel can no longer support FADA.
FADA was sponsored and introduced by Sen. Lee and 21 other senators to originally allow individuals who claim they have a "sincerely held religious belief" opposed to same-sex "marriage" from being punished by the government.
The
original language of the First Amendment Defense Act stated: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person believes, speaks, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction 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."
However, Sen. Lee insisted the language be amended as follows: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that— (1) marriage is or should be recognized as a union of— (A) one man and one woman; or (B) two individuals as recognized under Federal law; or (2) sexual relations outside marriage are improper" (emphasis added).
The plain language of the revised FADA states "marriage is or should be recognized as a union of— ...two individuals as recognized under Federal law."
Senator Lee's revised FADA version would enshrine in federal law that marriage "IS" or "SHOULD" be between two individuals (of the same-sex as contrasted with the "union of one man and one woman").
"The language of Sen. Lee's revised First Amendment Defense Act will provide a weapon to those who want to press same-sex 'marriage' and the LGBT agenda throughout the federal law," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "The original version was meant to protect people from being forced to participate in same-sex ceremonies or be discriminated against for their view of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The revised version of FADA changes the meaning and will do more harm than good. It is a Trojan horse that we cannot support," said Staver.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
