Marriage and Religious Freedom Act
Latest action · Sep 19, 2013 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 19, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Marriage and Religious Freedom Act - Prohibits the federal government from taking an adverse action against a person on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.
Defines "adverse action" as any federal government action to discriminate against such person, including: (1) denying or revoking certain tax exemptions or disallowing a deduction of any charitable contribution made to or by such person; (2) denying or excluding such person from receiving any federal grant, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, or similar position or status; or (3) denying or withholding any benefit under a federal benefit program.
Permits a person to assert an actual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and to obtain compensatory damages or other appropriate relief against the federal government.
Authorizes the Attorney General (DOJ) to bring actions to enforce this Act.
Specifies that the term "person" includes any person regardless of religious affiliation, as well as corporations and other entities regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status.
Cosponsors 103
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 19, 2013 to Nov 17, 2014, with 62 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-MD | Andy Harris | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-MO | Ann Wagner | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-LA | Bill Cassidy | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-TX | Bill Flores | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-MI | Bill Huizenga | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-MO | Billy Long | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-LA | Charles W. Boustany, Jr. | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-NY | Chris Collins | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-UT | Chris Stewart | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-WY | Cynthia M. Lummis | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| D-IL | Daniel Lipinski | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-TN | David P. Roe | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-TN | Diane Black | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
| R-CA | Doug LaMalfa | Original | Sep 19, 2013 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 19, 2013Introduced in House
- Sep 19, 2013Referred 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1808 | Marriage and Religious Freedom Act | Related bill | Dec 12, 2013 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.
- Charitable contributions
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government lending and loan guarantees
- Government liability
- Income tax deductions
- Income tax exclusion
- Legal fees and court costs
- Licensing and registrations
- Marriage and family status
- Public contracts and procurement
- Religion
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- Tax-exempt organizations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 19, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.