Republicans Propose 'Religious Freedom' Law in Wake of Gay Marriage

In the wake of both the Supreme Court’s recent ruling and the debacle that occurred in Indiana when the state government attempted to allow businesses to discriminate on the basis of religious freedom, moderate republicans are beginning to recognize that gay marriage isn’t going anywhere. But not everyone’s happy about that.

The New York Times reports that now that it’s become clear that the battle for equal rights has been won by those opposing them, Republicans haven’t given up the fight. They’ve decided to do something to make sure that federal businesses and those that have tax-exempt status are still protected by religious freedom laws, even though that might mean that there are more protections for gay and lesbian women and less protection for for-profit businesses that plan to discriminate.

The First Amendment Defense Act is already proving contentious within the party. Moderate Republicans, the Times reveals, have suggested adding two new provisions to the act to make it more palatable to the general public while still protecting those organizations that the right sees as important from the scourge of homosexuals coming to take religious freedoms away. And now even those Republicans who previously fought against same-sex marriage are being a little skittish about the First Amendment Defense Act, including House Speaker John Boehner, long known for his anti-gay views.

Credits: Jezebel.com