WASHINGTON -- In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, more than 100 U.S. House Republicans -- including New Jersey Reps. Chris Smith and Scott Garrett -- are sponsoring legislation enabling groups and individuals to deny service to gay couples on the basis of their religious beliefs.

Proponents of what is known as the First Amendment Defense Act say the legislation would prevent federal retaliation against individuals or organizations refusing to serve same-sex couples on the grounds that they are following the tenets of their religion. Opponents say this will allow public officials to deny benefits or enable homeless shelters that turn away gays and lesbians to continue receiving government grants.

"Our bill ensures that the federal government does not penalize Americans for following their religious beliefs or moral convictions on traditional marriage," said the bill's chief House sponsor, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho).

Both Smith (R-4th Dist.) and Garrett (R-5th Dist.) are original co-sponsors.

"The First Amendment Defense Act is designed to ensure that all Americans, and faith-based organizations in particular, are protected from government discrimination based on their moral and religious convictions," Smith said. "The constitution guarantees this right, and we must be vigilant to maintain these critical safeguards."

"Every American deserves to know that their right to free speech, free expression, and religious liberty -- as prescribed by the First Amendment--is protected from government overreach or intrusion," Garrett said.

The measure was introduced just nine days before the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Twelve of the 34 Senate Republicans and 38 of the 108 House Republicans backing the bill became co-sponsors after the ruling.

"This shows that the right wing is mobilized to keep on fighting against equality," said Andrea Bowen, executive director of Garden State Equality, an advocacy group opposing discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals.

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Heritage Action for America -- a Washington advocacy group that wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, eliminate the tax on multimillion-dollar estates, and stop regulation of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change -- has said that it will consider co-sponsorship of this bill a key vote in its annual ratings. It cited legal challenges against wedding-related businesses that refused to provide services at same-sex ceremonies and receptions.

"The bill simply affirms that the federal government respects the rights of individuals, businesses, and organizations that wish to act in accordance with their beliefs about marriage, without taking away federally funded benefits or services from anyone," the group said.

The Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group that seeks equal rights for gays and lesbians, said the bill would allow government workers to claim religious protections as they deny visa applications or Social Security checks, or social-service groups that receive federal grants to turn away same-sex couples in need.

"Not only is it wrong to promote discrimination with taxpayers' money, it's even worse to allow those taxpayer funds to be used to reward discriminatory actions by federal employees, said David Stacy, government affairs director. "We call on members of Congress to oppose this reckless and irresponsible legislation that has nothing to do with the First Amendment and everything to do with taxpayer-funded discrimination."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.