Faith groups fear US govt. punishment for opposing gay marriage

Faith groups in the United States are worried that they would be punished by the government for opposing same sex-marriage recently made legal in America.

They are pressing the Republicans for a response to the US Supreme Court's ruling issued on June 26 that made it legal for gay couples to get married in any US state.

Five of the nine court justices ruled that the right to marriage equality was enshrined under the 14th amendment, striking down bans in over a dozen states.

The religious organizations are now calling on lawmakers, who return to Washington next week, to insure new protections for people with faith-based objections.

The First Amendment Defense Act bans the government from retaliating against churches, schools and adoption agencies that only recognize heterosexual marriage.

"Regardless of where you come down on the issue of same-sex marriage, we shouldn’t allow the federal government to punish religious institutions for their beliefs about marriage,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who introduced the legislation shortly before the Supreme Court ruling.

Other GOP presidential candidates, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho)  are backing the bill, sponsoring the same legislation in the House.

The Family Research Council, Heritage Foundation, and National Organization for Marriage are calling the bill a rational response to the high court’s controversial ruling, pushing for votes on it.

“It doesn’t change the definition of marriage,” said David Christensen, vice president of government affairs at the Family Research Council. “It simply protects those who believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”

He said that those who “believe in traditional marriage” should not be punished and should not “be run out of the public square”.

A new poll released on Friday showed that many Americans want the individual states to refuse rulings issued by federal courts, including the gay marriage ruling.

33 percent of likely US voters say states should be allowed to ignore federal court rulings should their elected officials agree with them.

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