*The Washington Flyer
October 21, 2022
“Truth will ultimately prevail where there [are] pains to bring it to light.”
George Washington
Senate Considers Marriage Bill Which Threatens Religious Liberty
As the midterm elections approach and news is focused on congressional campaigns, the U.S. Senate continues to consider the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill introduced to codify same-sex marriage into federal law. In so doing, the bill will undermine religious liberty, family values, parental rights, and child welfare. Supporters of the bill claim that it is necessary after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the Supreme Court should revisit cases that used the faulty legal reasoning of Roe v. Wade to justify legalizing same-sex marriage. However, if enacted, the bill would actually require the federal government to accept any state’s definition of marriage as valid and force states that protect marriage as between a man and woman to recognize other states’ marriage laws. Responding to the criticism from several groups on the dangers the bill poses to religious liberty, Republican Senators Tom Tillis (NC), Susan Collins (ME), and Rob Portman (OH) joined with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI) in drafting an amendment to the bill which they claim will provide necessary religious liberty protections; however, as explained by the Family Research Council, the amendment is extremely narrow in its scope of protection and “provides no meaningful, affirmative, or enforceable shield of protection to those people and entities already being attacked for their belief in natural marriage.”
The AACS prepared an issue brief which highlights the dangers this bill poses not just to the religious liberty of Christian schools and all religious institutions but also to parental rights, school choice, and child welfare. If the bill is enacted, the government will be endorsing an ideology that is contrary to the biblical tenet of marriage between one man and one woman, and this will inevitably cast Christian schools and other religious institutions as discriminatory for adhering to the biblical view of marriage and proclaiming what is proven to be best for children and societies. School choice and parental rights will be affected as the success of school choice relies on the genuine choice of parents to direct the education of their children and the freedom for Christian and other religious schools to maintain their autonomy and religious identity. Already in Maine, Christian schools adhering to a biblical view of marriage have faced challenges in the state’s school choice program, and a Florida Christian school faced public backlash for taking a stand for the biblical view of human sexuality. Furthermore, recent years have shown how radical sexual ideology has served as a wedge between children and their parents, putting the government in the position of enforcing students’ “right” to pursue an alternative sexual identity without a parent’s consent. Finally, the bill denies the truth—evident through observation, conscience, and studies that show the benefit of a married mother and father to children’s flourishing and long-term success—that a primary purpose of marriage is to provide a safe and nurturing home for children. The bill instead asserts, without evidence, that same-sex marriage is equally beneficial for children and society as traditional marriage. Reports indicate that the Senate will vote on the bill soon, so we encourage those who are concerned about the passage of this bill to contact your Senators and urge them to oppose this dangerous legislation.