Respect for Marriage Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ADERHOLT. Madam Speaker, I am in strong opposition of H.R. 8404, the so-called Respect for Marriage Act.

I remain steadfast in my longstanding belief that marriage, as has been the tradition in this nation and around the world, is between one man and one woman.

To my colleagues who may be swayed by the inadequate attempts made in the Senate to increase religious protections in this flawed piece of legislation: The changes simply do not do enough to protect those that could face the harmful effects of this bill.

The overly vague provisions of this bill leave far too much to be interpreted and decided by the courts. We, as Members of Congress, should be compelled to protect the religious freedom of Americans and should not leave this cornerstone of our Constitution to the whim of the courts.

``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .''

In passing this bill, our government IS making a law that prohibits the free exercise of religion. These are not just words. They are fundamental to our country and who we are as a people.

Moving forward, court cases concerning private entities exercising their religious freedom, much like cases heard this week at the Supreme Court, will face new challenges. They will now be litigated under the rubric of a national policy in which the court could interpret someone not recognizing same-sex marriages, or even abstaining from providing website design services for a same sex marriage, as akin to racial discrimination.

This bill goes far beyond the protection of same-sex marriage. Instead, it exposes private entities to government discrimination based solely on their deeply held religious beliefs.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting no on this legislation before us today.

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