Marriage and Religious Freedom Act gets boost from pro-family groups

A bill to protect citizens from coercion and censorship for their views on marriage, the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, got a boost recently from myriad pro-family groups urging its passage. Their letter is below:

Senator Mike Enzi

379A Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Mike Lee

316 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senators Enzi and Lee:

We, the undersigned, representing hundreds of thousands of Americans, want to thank you for your leadership in reintroducing two key pieces of legislation designed to ensure that charities, non- profits, and small business owners with religious beliefs or moral convictions about marriage are not penalized by the government for their beliefs.

The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act would prevent the federal government from discriminating in programs, grants, contracts, and tax treatment against individuals who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Such protections are urgently needed in light of new federal agency conditions requiring endorsement of same-sex relationships in order to compete for certain federal grants. In addition, the President’s problematic July 2014 Executive Order jeopardizing the ability of businesses and faith-based organizations that contract with the federal government to hire and administer programs according to their religious beliefs is deeply troubling. The government should not deem longstanding providers of important public services ineligible to compete for federal funding simply because of their beliefs about marriage. This bill would stop these harmful and arbitrary government penalties.

Similarly, S. 667, the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, would ensure that faith-based adoption and foster care providers working with birth moms, parents, and community stakeholders to serve needy children can continue to provide services in their respective locales. S.667 would address discriminatory actions like those taken by Illinois, Massachusetts, D.C. and San Francisco to force faith-based providers to halt services simply because of their belief that kids do best with a mom and a dad. Indeed, the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act reflects its name—it ensures the inclusion of all providers and particularly those faith-based entities who have offered the bulk of orphan care since our nation’s founding. States that choose to discriminate against faith-based organizations despite this bill’s prohibition would face a reduction in federal funding under this bill, an important deterrent to future targeting.

We as individuals and organizations wish to remain active participants in and contributors to our communities. These bills ensure that we can continue to do so while also living in accordance with our beliefs about marriage and the family. Significantly, an overwhelming majority of Americans agree that we should have this freedom. Just last month, new polling from WPA Opinion Research and Family Research Council showed that 81% of Americans believe that individuals like us should be able to live and work in accordance with our belief in marriage as between a man and a woman.

While Americans in general continue to debate the meaning of marriage in the lead up to Supreme Court review of state marriage laws this spring, one thing is clear: millions of Americans who continue to affirm the historic understanding of marriage should remain free from government discrimination.

Again, we thank you for your leadership in introducing and advocating for this important legislation.

Sincerely,
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council

Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values

David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics)
CEO
Christian Medical Association

Tom Minnery
President and CEO
CitizenLink

Richard A. Viguerie
Chairman
ConservativeHQ.com

Mathew Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

Michael A. Needham
CEO
Heritage Action

Dr. Ron Crews
CH (COL) USAR Retired Executive Director
Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty

Most Reverend Thomas Wenski
Archbishop of Miami
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

Most Reverend William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore
Chairman, USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty

Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone
Archbishop of San Francisco
Chairman, USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage

Russell D. Moore
President
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Penny Nance
President and CEO
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee

Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
Chairman
High Impact Leadership Coalition

Star Parker
President
Center for Urban Renewal and Education

Carrie Gordon Earll
Vice President, Government and Public Policy
Focus on the Family

Rick Scarborough
President
Vision America Action

Keith Wiebe
President
American Association of Christian Schools

Thomas J. Cathey, EdD
Director for Legal Legislative Issues
Association of Christian Schools International

Dan Weber
CEO
Association of Mature American Citizens

Joel Grewe
Director
Generation Joshua

Susan A. Carleson
Chairman/CEO
American Civil Rights Union

Andrea Lafferty
President
Traditional Values Coalition

William J. Murray
Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition

Austin Ruse
President
C-FAM

Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness

C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

Robert Knight
Senior Fellow
American Civil Rights Union

Colin A. Hanna
President, Let Freedom Ring
Co-Chair, The Weyrich Lunch

Curt Levey
President
The Committee for Justice

Nicole Theis
President
Delaware Family Policy Council

David Fowler
President
Family Action of Tennessee, Inc.

Dale Bartscher
Executive Director
Family Heritage Alliance Action (SD)

Julie Lynde
Executive Director
Cornerstone Family Council, Idaho

Phil Burress
President
Citizens for Community Values Action

Allen Whitt
President
Family Policy Council of West Virginia

Jim Minnery
President
Alaska Family Action

John Helmberger
CEO
Minnesota Family Council

Kent Ostrander
Executive Director
The Family Foundation (KY)

Michael Geer
President
Pennsylvania Family Institute

Peter Wolfgang
President
Family Institute of CT Action

Rev. Jason J. McGuire
Executive Director
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms

Joe Ortwerth
Executive Director
Missouri Family Policy Council

Gene Mills
President
Louisiana Family Forum

Andrew Beckwith
President
Massachusetts Family Institute

Jonathan Saenz
President
Texas Values

Len Deo
Founder & President
New Jersey Family Policy Council

Jonathan Gardner
Executive Director
New Mexico Center for Family Policy