Quiz#72 Respect for Marriage Act

Rhonda has heard a lot of passionate arguments about the recently passed Respect for Marriage Act.  Rhonda wants to rise above culture war bickering and get a more objective understanding of the Act and its potential ramifications.  Where should Rhonda turn to find more information on this important topic? 

 

(Scroll down for the answer)

 

Answer: Rhonda should consider studying the forthcoming law review article co-authored by Doug Laycock, Thomas Berg, Carl Esbeck and Robin Fretwell Wilson entitled “The Respect for Marriage Act: Living Together Despite our Deepest Differences.”  A link to it is below as well as the Abstract. 

 

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4394618

The Respect for Marriage Act: Living Together Despite Our Deepest Differences

University of Illinois Law Review, Forthcoming

Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2023-25

U of St. Thomas (Minnesota) Legal Studies Research Paper, Forthcoming

University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2023-08

50 Pages Posted: 21 Mar 2023 Last revised: 25 Apr 2023

Douglas Laycock

University of Virginia School of Law

Thomas C. Berg

University of St. Thomas, St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN - School of Law

Carl H. Esbeck

University of Missouri School of Law

Let's see how you do on today's quiz. Quiz.
Religion Law Quiz number 72.

(00:27):
Perdóname, excuse my little error there on the Spanish.
Today we are going to be talking about the Respect for Marriage Act.
And I know we had a Religion Law Quiz many, many episodes ago.
And today we're going to talk a little bit more about that. So let's set the table here.

(00:48):
Rhonda has heard a lot of passionate arguments about the Respect for Marriage
Act that Congress passed,
and Rhonda wants to rise above the cultural bickering and get a more objective
understanding of the act and its potential ramifications.
And the question is, where can Rhonda turn to find more information on this

(01:13):
important topic? And if you pause and think about this for a second,
if you'll recall when the Respect for Marriage Act was passed, a...
Back in the, what was it, late 2022 or early 2023, I don't recall exactly when,
but in that time vicinity, there were a lot of passionate arguments for and against it.

(01:35):
And there weren't a lot of people more in the, what I'll call the middle of the road camp doing it.
And then there were four professors that came out with an article.
It's Doug Laycock, who's a very well-known religious freedom scholar,
Thomas Berg, Carl Esbeck, Robin Fretwell, Wilson, and here's the answer.

(01:58):
They co-authored an article, which is called The Respect for Marriage Act,
Living Together Despite Our Deepest Differences.
And I'll have a link in the show notes to it.
But there is the abstract on the article. and let me, there's four paragraphs here on the abstract.

(02:18):
Let me read these four paragraphs to you again. I'll have the citation in the
show note because this really gives you a feel for essentially what this article says.
Quote, the recently enacted Respect for Marriage Act is important bipartisan
legislation that will protect same-sex marriage should the Supreme Supreme Court overrule Obergefell v.

(02:41):
Hodges, and it will protect religious liberty for traditional beliefs about marriage.
The act has been attacked by hardliners on both sides.
We analyze the act section by section, showing how it works,
why it is constitutional, and why it does not do the many things its critics have accused it of.

(03:03):
The act requires every state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
If Obergefell were overruled, Congress would have no authority to require each
state to license same-sex marriages within its borders.
By invoking the Full Faith and Credit Clause, Congress did all that it could for same-sex couples.

(03:26):
The Act protects religious liberty with congressional findings,
rules of construction, modest new substantive protections, and a limitation on the Act's REIT.
Only persons acting under colorist state law are required to recognize sister
state marriages. The act specifically addresses the fear that conservative religious

(03:49):
entities could lose their federal tax-exempt status.
The act is a model for pluralistic approaches that protect both sides of the culture wars.
State legislators have passed many gay rights bills with protections for religious liberty.
Neither side has been able to pass gay rights bills without such protections

(04:10):
or absolute religious liberty bills with no allowance for gay and lesbian rights.
The Respect for Marriage Act is an encouraging return to the practice of protecting
liberty for all Americans, both the LGBTQ community and the conservative religious
community. Close quote.
So that's the abstract and kind of a quick high level summary of what this law review article did.

(04:39):
I cite it because there, again, when the Respect for Marriage Act came out,
I heard a lot of, like it indicated here, a lot of passionate arguments for and against it.
And when you listen to people, you sense their concerns, and they're legitimate concerns.

(05:00):
But then when you start really looking at the act and kind of pull away from the hyperbole,
what you see here from these four well-respected professors is that the act
really was attempting to balance the rights of people in the LGBTQ community
as well as the conservative religious community. community.

(05:21):
So anyway, that does it for today's quiz. Hopefully you have found this helpful.
I will see you on the next Religion Law Quiz.
Thank you for listening to today's episode. Remember, Religion Law Quizzes are
for educational purposes only and are not intended to be relied upon as legal advice.
If you have found this episode to be helpful, please share it and leave a review.

(05:45):
Until we meet again, keep being an influencer.
Music.