Lone House Democrat Backs Anti-LGBT “First Amendment Defense Act”

Ten days before SCOTUS handed down its Obergefell ruling, Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Raul Labrador introduced the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which would bar the government from denying grants or tax benefits to any “individual, association, or business” that refuses to comply with same-sex marriage laws. Since then numerous hate groups such as NOM and the FRC have hailed FADA in their daily money begs as the only thing left standing between them dirty LGBTs and Jesus.

While FADA has about as much chance of passage in this Congress as the Equality Act, the bill currently has 36 Senate and 140 House co-sponsors. Unsurprisingly 175 of those co-sponsors are Republicans. But then there’s six-term Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), who despite voting for the repeal of DADT and for the Hate Crimes Act somehow remains opposed to same-sex marriage. (He also opposes Obamacare.) Lipinski was first elected in 2004 in an apparently shady move in which he succeeded his own father, former Rep. Bill Lipinski, who won that year’s primary but withdrew before the general election. The elder Lipinski then convinced local Democratic leaders to name his son as the candidate.

Remember this next year, folks.