Religious Freedom Restoration Act

rdf:langString Religious Freedom Restoration Act

rdf:langString Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993

rdf:langString Chuck Schumer

rdf:langString House

rdf:langString House

rdf:langString Senate

rdf:langString passed voice vote

rdf:langString An Act to protect the free exercise of religion.

rdf:langString The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb through 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-4 (also known as RFRA, pronounced "rifra"), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religious freedom are protected." The bill was introduced by Congressman Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on March 11, 1993. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Ted Kennedy (D-MA) the same day. A unanimous U.S. House and a nearly unanimous U.S. Senate—three senators voted against passage—passed the bill, and President Bill Clinton signed it into law. RFRA, as applied to the states, was held unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the City of Boerne v. Flores decision in 1997, which ruled that the RFRA is not a proper exercise of Congress's enforcement power. However, it continues to be applied to the federal government—for instance, in Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal (2006) and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2014). These cases did not consider whether Congress was violating the Establishment Clause if it carves out exemptions based on religious laws from federal laws and regulations that it itself has authorized. In response to City of Boerne v. Flores and other related RFR issues, twenty-one individual states have passed State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that apply to state governments and local municipalities.

rdf:langString RFRA

rdf:langString House

rdf:langString without objection

rdf:langString § 2000bb et seq.