FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2022
Contact: Laura Macklem
[email protected]
Executive Director of North Carolina Values Coalition Tami Fitzgerald made a statement today regarding the passage of HR8404, a bill threatening religious freedom in the United States:
“The mis-named ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ is completely unnecessary, as it does nothing to change the legal status of same-sex marriage. It is a dangerous, direct attack on Americans who believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman and threatens their First Amendment rights by subjecting them to predatory lawsuits by activists, seeking to use the threat of litigation to silence debate and exclude people of faith from the public square. By choosing to disregard legitimate concerns about the undeniable harms of this bill and by rejecting amendments offered by Senators Lee, Rubio, and Lankford to protect religious freedom, Senators Tillis and Burr have betrayed their own voters and their party’s platform on marriage. The North Carolina Values Coalition is committed to ensuring the First Amendment rights of North Carolinians who will be targeted because of this legislation and to electing Senators who will truly represent the people of North Carolina and their values, unlike Tillis and Burr.”
NC Values’ Coalition’s sister organization, The Institute for Faith & Family, filed an Amicus brief in a religious freedom case being heard at the Supreme Court on December 5. Fitzgerald will be speaking at a rally at the Supreme Court in defense of religious freedom regarding 303 Creative vs. Elenis, a case where a wedding web designer is being required by Colorado to design websites for same-sex weddings. Said Fitzgerald, “By voting for the ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ Senators Tillis and Burr have put targets on people of faith, as they continue to be persecuted for honoring God above the values of this culture.”
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