More than 80 Christian groups in the US condemned the bill legalizing same-sex marriage. In a letter signed by 83 faith-based groups, it called the Senate to oppose the said bill which they claim is an attack on people of faith, reports Christian Headlines.

On July 19, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to codify same-sex marriage into law. The Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404) is now in the Senate for approval and if enacted, it would repeal the Defense for Marriage Act (DOMA) and would require all states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

[H.R. 8404] is an attack on millions of Americans, particularly people of faith, who believe marriage is between one man and one woman…—Coalition letter vs RFMA

“[H.R. 8404] is an attack on millions of Americans, particularly people of faith, who believe marriage is between one man and one woman and that legitimate distinctions exist between men and women concerning family formation that should be recognized in the law,” the coalition said in its letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

According to them, the bill “aims to shut down any disagreement, silencing those with the long-held conviction that marriage between one man and one woman is essential to human flourishing, a view that has existed from the dawn of time.”

The coalition fears that the same-sex marriage bill endangers people of faith and those lawmakers who support it are “crossing a line into aiding and abetting the persecution of people of faith.”

Meantime, the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission expressed dismay with the controversial bill. Brent Leatherwood, the ERLC’s acting president, said the group “stands firmly opposed to this legislation, and it should not make any more advances in the legislative process. Its passage by the House is yet another reminder of how far our culture has moved away from the biblical understanding of marriage as being between one man and one woman for life and why God’s design for that union is meant for our flourishing.”

Leatherwood told Baptist Press that, “Marriage is bound up in the Gospel itself and so, regardless of any act of Congress, it is imperative that we, as Christians, continue to show how it is a picture of Christ joining with His bride, the church.”

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote in a column on July 20: “Yesterday, those of us who know that marriage is and can only be the union of a man and a woman found ourselves facing the undeniable reality that our political class will not rise to defend society’s most fundamental institution.”

The coalition’s letter concluded with, “We call on you to reject H.R. 8404 and to urge your colleagues to thoroughly abandon this harmful and unnecessary legislation. It has little to do with protecting rights; its text betrays an intent to stigmatize and take rights away—especially those belonging to people of faith.”

The signatories of the letter included Michael P. Farris of Alliance Defending Freedom, Jim Daly of Focus on the Family, Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation, Ryan T. Anderson of the Ethics & Public Policy Center, and Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.