First Amendment Defense Act (S. 2525)

S. 2525 would prohibit the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that:

• marriage is or should be recognized as the union of:
  • one man and one woman; or
  • two individuals recognized under federal law; or
• sexual relations outside of marriage are improper.

The bill defines discriminatory action to include:

• altering the federal tax treatment of, causing any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or denying, delaying, or revoking certain tax exemptions of any such person;
• disallowing a deduction of any charitable contribution made to or by such person;
• withholding, reducing, excluding, terminating, or otherwise denying any federal grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, or similar position or status from or to such person;
• withholding, reducing, excluding, terminating, or otherwise denying any benefit under a federal benefit program; or
• withholding, reducing, excluding, terminating, or otherwise denying access or entitlement to federal property, facilities, educational institutions, speech fora, or charitable fundraising campaigns form or to such a person.

The law would allow a person to assert an actual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and obtain compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or any other appropriate relief against the Federal Government.

Related Legislation

Similar to H.R. 2802/S. 1598, which failed to pass during the 2015-2016 legislative session.

People