On Tuesday, the US Senate passed the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act.” Conservatives contend the bill is a direct threat to the religious freedom of millions of Americans. The conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom says the bill is “dangerously cynical and completely unnecessary” and is “a direct attack on the First Amendment. It does nothing to change the legal status of same-sex marriage anywhere. But it undermines religious freedom everywhere….” The bill now goes back to the US House for concurrence.

This is a dangerous bill to be sure, but it also affords an opportunity to talk about why marriage between one man and one woman is good, about the unique benefits that come from that relationship for individual men and women, for children, and for all society. We should also use this time to explain the importance of religious freedom and why it must be aggressively protected.