See the photo above? Those are the six Republican presidential hopefuls officially on record with their commitment to discriminating against gay people.
Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson , Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee have all promised, if elected, to pass the “First Amendment Defense Act,” during their first 100 days in office.
That is very bad.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), would allow any individual or organization to discriminate against LEGALLY MARRIED same-sex couples, as long as they claim the discrimination is part of their religious beliefs.
The Human Rights Campaign has specifics:
“Adverse action” is broadly defined to include the denial or revocation of a federal tax status or deduction; denial of a federal grant, contract, loan, benefit or employment; or any other act of discrimination. The bill provides individuals and organizations the right to sue the federal government for monetary damages in federal court.
If passed, this legislation would create a breakdown of government services and runaway litigation. It would permit a federal employee, for example, to refuse to process tax returns, visa applications or Social Security checks whenever a same-sex couple’s paperwork appears on his or her desk. This legislation would also permit recipients of federal grants and contracts, including those for social services programs like homeless shelters and substance abuse treatment programs, to turn away LGBT people. It allows any of these individuals or groups, or anyone else who believes they have been somehow required by the federal government to approve of married same-sex couples, to file a lawsuit and potentially receive damages from taxpayer money.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that these Republican candidates are being so open and honest about their bigotry. Act accordingly.
