Bill Text: IA HF508 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act protecting religious liberty and state sovereignty relating to marriage.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-28 - Introduced, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 441. [HF508 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2023-HF508-Introduced.html
House
File
508
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
508
BY
SHERMAN
,
CISNEROS
,
STOLTENBERG
,
M.
THOMPSON
,
DIEKEN
,
OSMUNDSON
,
GERHOLD
,
and
THOMSON
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
protecting
religious
liberty
and
state
sovereignty
1
relating
to
marriage.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
TLSB
1688YH
(12)
90
pf/rh
H.F.
508
Section
1.
RELIGIOUS
LIBERTY
——
RECOGNITION
OF
1
MARRIAGE.
The
state
of
Iowa
recognizes
freedom
of
religion
2
as
an
unalienable
right
and
recognizes
the
institution
of
3
marriage
as
a
sacred
religious
sacrament
that
is
inextricably
4
and
fundamentally
bound
with
free
exercise
of
that
right.
The
5
state
of
Iowa
also
recognizes
the
deep
historical
and
religious
6
roots
that
uniformly
defined
and
understood
marriage
to
be
the
7
union
between
one
male
and
female.
Therefore,
no
resident
of
8
Iowa
shall
be
compelled,
coerced,
or
forced
to
recognize
any
9
same-sex
unions
or
ceremonies
as
marriage,
notwithstanding
10
any
laws
to
the
contrary
that
may
exist
in
other
states,
and
11
no
legal
action,
criminal
or
civil,
shall
be
taken
against
12
citizens
in
Iowa
for
refusal
or
failure
to
recognize
or
13
participate
in
same-sex
unions
or
ceremonies.
14
Sec.
2.
RECOGNITION
OF
THE
NULLITY
OF
CERTAIN
FEDERAL
ACTS
15
RELATIVE
TO
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA.
The
state
of
Iowa
considers
16
certain
elements
of
the
federal
Respect
for
Marriage
Act,
Pub.
17
L.
No.
117-228,
relating
to
the
definition
of
marriage
to
be
18
null
and
void
ab
initio
and
to
have
no
effect
whatsoever
in
19
Iowa
for
the
following
reasons:
20
1.
Any
attempt
by
the
federal
entity
to
erect
a
legal
21
definition
of
marriage
plainly
falls
outside
the
enumerated
22
powers
of
Article
I,
section
8,
of
the
Constitution
of
the
23
United
States.
24
2.
Any
attempt
by
the
federal
entity
including
Congress
25
to
define
or
redefine
marriage
violates
the
establishment
26
clause
of
the
first
amendment
to
the
Constitution
of
the
United
27
States.
28
3.
The
Respect
for
Marriage
Act
violates
the
tenth
amendment
29
to
the
Constitution
of
the
United
States
by
encroaching
upon
30
state
powers
that
are
reserved
to
the
states
or
to
the
people.
31
EXPLANATION
32
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
33
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
34
This
bill
relates
to
protecting
religious
liberty
and
state
35
-1-
LSB
1688YH
(12)
90
pf/rh
1/
2
H.F.
508
sovereignty
relating
to
marriage.
1
The
bill
provides
that
the
state
of
Iowa
recognizes
freedom
2
of
religion
as
an
unalienable
right
and
recognizes
the
3
institution
of
marriage
as
a
sacred
religious
sacrament
that
is
4
inextricably
and
fundamentally
bound
with
free
exercise
of
that
5
right.
The
state
of
Iowa
also
recognizes
the
deep
historical
6
and
religious
roots
that
uniformly
defined
and
understood
7
marriage
to
be
the
union
between
one
male
and
female.
8
Therefore,
no
resident
of
Iowa
shall
be
compelled,
coerced,
9
or
forced
to
recognize
any
same-sex
unions
or
ceremonies
as
10
marriage,
notwithstanding
any
laws
to
the
contrary
that
may
11
exist
in
other
states,
and
no
legal
action,
criminal
or
civil,
12
shall
be
taken
against
citizens
in
Iowa
for
refusal
or
failure
13
to
recognize
or
participate
in
same-sex
unions
or
ceremonies.
14
The
bill
also
specifies
reasons
why
the
state
of
Iowa
15
considers
certain
elements
of
the
federal
Respect
for
Marriage
16
Act,
Pub.
L.
No.
117-228,
relating
to
the
definition
of
17
marriage
to
be
null
and
void
ab
initio
and
to
have
no
effect
18
whatsoever
in
Iowa.
19
-2-
LSB
1688YH
(12)
90
pf/rh
2/
2
