FACTS ON THE LOUISIANA MARRIAGE AND CONSCIENCE ACT

WHAT HB 707, THE LOUISIANA MARRIAGE AND CONSCIENCE ACT, DOES:

• HB 707 proposes to enact into law that the state shall not take any adverse action against a person, wholly or partially, on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction about the traditional definition of marriage.

• What this means in practice is that the state will not be allowed to deny from a person or entity such things that they would otherwise be entitled to—such as a license, certification, accreditation, employment, state contracts, state benefits, or tax deductions—solely because of that person or entity’s views that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

• This bill will attempt to stop potential cases of discrimination by the state against individuals on the basis of their view that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

WHAT HB 707, THE LOUISIANA MARRIAGE AND CONSCIENCE ACT, DOES NOT DO:

• Passing HB 707 will NOT allow individuals or entities to do anything that is currently against the law (state or federal).

• The bill does NOT prevent the state from denying a license, certification, accreditation, employment, state contracts, state benefits, or tax deductions on the basis of someone or an entity breaking the law or doing something illegal.

• The bill will NOT change anything as it relates to the law in terms of discrimination suits between private parties.

• The bill does NOT provide a right for an individual or business owner to discriminate against gays or lesbians.

CLEARING UP MYTHS ABOUT HB 707, THE LOUISIANA MARRIAGE AND CONSCIENCE ACT

MYTH: This bill will legalize discrimination, allowing restaurants and other businesses to refuse service to LGBT individuals. It will allow doctors to deny treatment to same-sex couples, and contractors could refuse to work on a gay person’s home, etc.

FACT: This legislation DOES NOT allow a restaurant or industry to refuse service to a gay or lesbian person. The law merely ensures the state cannot deny a license, certification, accreditation, or contracts, to a person or a business on the basis of their sincerely held religious belief about traditional marriage. It does NOT provide a right for a business owner to discriminate against gays or lesbians. The bill actually seeks to end discrimination by the STATE against an individual or entity based on their views regarding traditional marriage.

MYTH: HB 707 dismantles the Louisiana legal system. According to the ACLU, it could allow husbands to hit their wives, if the men claimed they thought they had a right to do so.

FACT: House Bill 707 doesn’t change any law to allow people or businesses to do anything that is currently against the law, be it spousal abuse, or breaking and entering, or jaywalking, etc. The bill that has been filed simply ensures the state cannot deny a license, certification, accreditation, contract, etc. to an individual or business on the basis of a sincerely held religious belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

MYTH: This bill is the same as the one that was pushed in Indiana and Arkansas.

FACT: The recent arguments in Indiana and Arkansas were regarding Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (“RFRAs”). HB 707 is not a RFRA law, so the controversy and concerns over the language and scope of the Indiana and Arkansas RFRAs are not relevant in Louisiana. Louisiana passed its own version of RFRA years ago. The Indiana bill became controversial because that state passed a broad RFRA that allowed for it to be misinterpreted and caused controversy. The debate in Indiana and Arkansas has no application to HB 707, which specifically and exclusively limits adverse treatment by the state of any person or entity that abides by a firmly held religious belief with regard to the issue of traditional marriage.

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