On Thursday, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R.8804) protecting same-sex marriage. Congressman Robert Aderholt expressed his concerns in a statement that the bill lacked adequate protections for religious liberties.
“The First Amendment to our Constitution makes it clear that Congress shall make “no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” Rep. Aderholt stated. “Even after the Senate changes, this bill does not give adequate protection to that First Amendment right. I fear that entities like the IRS will use this bill to target religious organizations. In Alabama, we have already seen how the Biden Administration targeted the Eagle Forum for simply exercising its First Amendment rights. This Administration will use this bill as another tool in its intimidation toolbox.”
Congressman Aderholt voted No on the bill. Despite Aderholt’s concerns, the bill passed and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The bill will codify the nationwide redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples in federal statute for the first time.
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops warned that the bill will also heighten the threats to religious liberty that have persisted after the Supreme Court’s controversial Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015.
Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester is the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
“We are gravely disappointed that the misnamed Respect for Marriage Act passed the Senate and continue to call for its rejection,” Bishop Barron said. “Pope Francis wrote in 2016 that ‘we can hardly stop advocating marriage simply to avoid countering contemporary sensibilities…. We would be depriving the world of values that we can and must offer.’ Indeed marriage, which is a lifelong and exclusive union, a complete and mutual gift of the husband and wife to each other for their good and for the procreation and education of children, is essential to the common good.”
“However, decades of social and legal developments have torn sexuality, childbearing, and marriage from each other in the public consciousness,” Barron continued. “Much of society has lost sight of the purpose of marriage and now equates it with adults’ companionship. This bill fails to include clear, comprehensive, and affirmative conscience protections for religious organizations and individuals who uphold the sanctity of traditional marriage that are needed.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, wrote about the religious freedom harms of the bill in a recent article.
“This failure to afford space in the public square for those who offer an authentic witness about marriage dishonors the best of American traditions,” Bishop Dolan wrote. “Our country has always served as a demonstration to the world that citizens in profound disagreement can exist in a harmony sustained by a law and culture that cherishes tolerance and compromise.”
Aderholt represents Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District.
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