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S 1808 113th Congress Senate

Marriage and Religious Freedom Act

Official title: A bill to prevent adverse treatment of any person on the basis of views held with respect to marriage.

Introduced: December 12, 2013 Introduced by: Lee, Mike Republican · Utah See on congress.gov
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues Charitable contributionsCivil actions and liabilityEmployee benefits and pensionsGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel management
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Government lending and loan guaranteesGovernment liabilityIncome tax deductionsIncome tax exclusionLegal fees and court costsLicensing and registrationsMarriage and family statusPublic contracts and procurementReligionSex, gender, sexual orientation discriminationSocial work, volunteer service, charitable organizationsTax administration and collection, taxpayersTax-exempt organizations
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 12, 2013
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Dec 12, 2013
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action December 12, 2013

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Marriage and Religious Freedom Act - Prohibits the federal government from taking an adverse action against a person on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief 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.

Defines "adverse action" as any federal government action to discriminate against a person who is acting in accordance with such religious belief, including a federal government action to:

  • deny or revoke certain tax exemptions or disallow a deduction of any charitable contribution made to or by such person;
  • alter the federal tax treatment of, or cause any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, such person or such person's employees with respect to any employee benefit provided or not provided by such person;
  • deem an employee benefit plan covering employees of such person to have lost its status as a qualified plan under the Internal Revenue Code, or to be in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, because the plan fails to provide a benefit, right, or feature on account of such person's religious belief;
  • deny or exclude such person from receiving any federal grant, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, or similar position or status; or
  • deny or withhold any benefit under a federal benefit program.

Permits a person to assert an actual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and to obtain compensatory damages or other appropriate relief against the federal government.

Authorizes the Attorney General (DOJ) to bring actions against certain independent establishments of the executive branch (certain establishments in the executive branch, other than the U.S. Postal Service [USPS] and the Postal Regulatory Commission, that are not executive departments, military departments, or government corporations) to enforce this Act.

Specifies that the term "person" includes any person regardless of religious affiliation, as well as corporations and other entities regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1808: Marriage and Religious Freedom Act. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1808/
MLA
"S. 1808: Marriage and Religious Freedom Act." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1808/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1808, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1808/.
Markdown link
[S. 1808: Marriage and Religious Freedom Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1808/)
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