Ads Attacking Same-Sex Marriage Bill Will Air During Thanksgiving NFL Games–But Here’s What They Get Wrong

Topline

The conservative Heritage Foundation think tank will reportedly air ads during NFL and college football games on Thanksgiving Day and through the weekend that attack the same-sex marriage bill moving through Congress with misleading claims the “far left” legislation will “expose religious schools and nonprofits to lawsuits,” falsehoods that parrot misinformation shared on social media in recent days.

Key Facts

The ads, first reported on by Fox News, claim “liberals are hurrying to cram through their far-left agenda” by “sneaking in” the same-sex marriage bill that would codify rights of same-sex married couples.

Democrats, and the 12 Republican senators who voted in favor of the bill last week, have been vocal about their plans, which have been in the works since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in an opinion that rulings granting rights to same-sex marriage and access to birth control should come under review.

Heritage alleges the legislation would subject religious organizations and schools to “attacks from the IRS” and potentially force them to “close their doors,” repeating false claims spread on social media that the legislation would threaten the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that don’t believe in same-sex marriage.

But the “Respect for Marriage Act” was amended to include language that states religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage will not lose their tax-exempt status.

The ads will air during the Thanksgiving Day NFL games between the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings on NBC, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys on Fox, and Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions on CBS, Fox reported.

The ads will also air during college games over the weekend in Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and throughout the next five days on Fox News, according to a Heritage Foundation press release.

Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Jay Richards, in a statement to Forbes, said the bill is not written to protect “say, a religious adoption agency or religious employees in the workplace.”

The bill, however, explicitly states it only applies to “those acting under color of state law,” a legal term used to refer to government officials.

Key Background

The “Respect for Marriage Act” would require the federal government to grant the same privileges, including tax and Social Security benefits, to same-sex married couples that it offers opposite-sex couples. It would also require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Both of these new requirements already occur as a matter of practice, but could be threatened if the Supreme Court overturns rulings that established the right to same-sex marriage.

What To Watch For

The bill passed a procedural vote in the Senate last week that allows it to move to the floor for debate before a final vote. Democrats secured 12 Republican votes to reach the 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster after adding language about protecting the rights of religious organizations, along with a provision that states marriage is between two people–an effort to alleviate concerns that it could endorse polygamy. If the bill passes the Senate, it will return to the House for a final vote before it could be sent to President Joe Biden for signage. The bills passed the House earlier this summer, but will need to be sent back since they were amended. Democrats are seeking to finalize the bill before the new Republican-controlled House takes office in January.

Big Number

$1.3 million. That’s the amount the Heritage Foundation is spending on the ads, which include a TV commercial and digital campaign, according to Fox, which reported it’s the group’s most expensive campaign ever.

Tangent

Similar claims to the ones the Heritage Foundation makes in the ads were widely shared on social media in recent days, the Associated Press reported. One tweet, that garnered 23,000 likes as of Monday, stated that the bill “will allow the IRS to revoke the tax exempt status of churches that hold fast to traditional marriage,” force “religiously affiliated adoption centers and foster care providers . . . to close down,” and expose small business owners who “choose to only support traditional marriage” to lawsuits.

Crucial Quote

“There was never even any reason to believe that this would result in loss of tax status, charitable status, or tax exemption for religious groups,” Dale Carpenter, a constitutional law professor at Southern Methodist University told the Associated Press. “But now with the Senate amendments, it is a belt and suspenders approach that there’s like a double lock on the door.”

Further Reading

Senate Votes To Protect Same-Sex Marriages (Forbes)