In the wake of the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling, anti-gay Religious Right groups rallied around a piece of legislation known as the First Amendment Defense Act, which 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: (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.”
In essence, the law would give individuals and businesses a license to openly discriminate against gay people and others in the name of “religious liberty,” so naturally anti-gay groups have lined up in support of the legislation.
Today, several of these groups — the American Principles Project, Heritage Action for America, Family Research Council Action — announced that six GOP presidential hopefuls have all signed a pledge to, if elected to the White House, push for the passage of the FADA within their first 100 days in office:
American Principles Project has joined together with Heritage Action for America, the action arm of the Heritage Foundation, and FRC Action, the legislative affiliate of the Family Research Council, to invite each of the candidates running for President to sign the following pledge:
“If elected, I pledge to push for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) and sign it into law during the first 100 days of my term as President.”
So far, six candidates have signed the pledge:
• Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
• Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida)
• Dr. Ben Carson
• Carly Fiorina
• Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania)
• Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas)
…
Maggie Gallagher, Senior Fellow at American Principles Project, released the following statement:
“It has become clear that the First Amendment Defense Act is rapidly becoming a signature issue that unifies the GOP. Three out of the four top contenders for the nomination — Carson, Cruz, and Rubio — have pledged to prioritize passing FADA in their first 100 days of office. Additionally, Bush, Graham, Paul, and now for the first time, Donald Trump, have publicly expressed support for FADA. Real, concrete protections for gay marriage dissenters appear to be just one election victory away.”
