by Stanley Carlson-Thies

At the April 28, 2015, US Supreme Court oral arguments about a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, when asked by Justice Samuel Alito whether a college or university that opposes same-sex marriage might lose its tax-exempt status for violating a fundamental public policy, said he could not say for sure, but that “it is going to be an issue.” On June 3, more than 70 religious-education leaders asked Congress to protect the religious institutions by adopting a law prohibiting the federal government from penalizing institutions that remain committed to traditional marriage.

The letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), points out how important tax-exempt status is to all educational institutions, facilitating the educational and research work they do. Without specific religious-freedom protections, religious colleges and other faith-based organizations may be forced either to change their policies or to give up important government support (tax-exempt status, tax-deductible contributions, grants, contracts)—or even lose their accreditation or licensing or legal freedom to exist and operate.

The bill the letter recommends, the “Government Non-Discrimination Act,” is to be introduced shortly by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah); in the last Congress, a similar bill co-sponsored by Sen. Lee was called the “Marriage and Religious Freedom Act.”