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Does new ruling mean every church has to marry gay couple? Even those against it? Thanks
No, it has nothing to do with churches. This applies to marriages that are done by the state itself. If a church wants to marry a gay couple they can. If they do not want to, they don't have to. OTOH, I suspect most churches will eventually capitulate. I don't know any churches that will refuse to marry an interacial couple, do you?
Does new ruling mean every church has to marry gay couple? Even those against it? Thanks
Absolutely not.
The ruling makes no such requirement. All it does is establish the right of persons to a civil marriage in the state where they reside.
I'm sure you've heard much fear-mongering along these lines. But the fact is that churches have never been required to marry those they did not want to marry. The Catholic church is fairly strict on inter-denominational marriage, as are many Rabbis. This is all perfectly legal, despite the fact that people have a Constitutional right to marry those of other faiths. There's even the occasional church that refuses to marry interracial couples, even though it is now 48 years since the Supreme Court struck down all state bans on interracial marriage. Here's an example of a pastor that refuses to perform interracial marriages. Abohorrent, yes, but there is no law against it. Southern Pastor Teaches Interracial Marriage Is Sin
But that's how the doom and gloom goes. It is not reality based. Remember, these are the same folks who insisted that allowing gays to serve openly was going to destroy military morale and compromise unit cohesion and cause uptight service members to leave the military en masse rather than serve with openly gay soldiers and sailors. Of course, this did not happen. Direly predicting things that are never going to come to pass is simply part of their rhetorical repertoire.
They'll say "Just you wait!". And we're still waiting. Has that happened in Massachusetts, which legalized same-sex marriage 11 years ago? No. Has it happened in any of the other dozens of states that had legalized same-sex marriage before today? No. As I indicated above, has it happened with interracial marriage or interfaith marriage? No
[A lot of them probably secretly wish that it would, because of the degree to which they crave presenting themselves as oppressed victims]
Does new ruling mean every church has to marry gay couple? Even those against it? Thanks
To chime in, of course not.
And Christian legislators recognize this, which is why in Michigan there is a bill in the State legislature to remove the ability of civil servants to perform marriage. They wish to restrict marriage only to clergy, so that no "good Christian" judge ever has to marry a gay couple. If only clergy can perform marriages then no one can ever be forced to perform a marriage they don't want to.
It also ensures that there are only a handful of options for marriage available to gay couples. If non one in you town will marry you, tough luck. Go somewhere else... It is simply another barrier to attempt to make it difficult for homosexuals to exercise their rights as Americans. Not a whole lot different that the legal stunts pulled during the Jim Crow era...
Thanks all you brainy types for clarifying that matter. It will perhaps clarify the same question over here. Same sex marriage is to be legally the same as heterosexual marriages, but that does not mean the churches have to conduct same -sex marriages whether they like it or not. The matter has perhaps been confused by the Churches arguing that marriage is a religious matter, not a legal matter, and a lot of people (including me ) wondered whether this meant that churches were legally obliged to allow any kind of marriage, even if it went against their religion. As is the usual case, it was more a case of the churches trying to force their religious views on everyone else and pretending that it was everyone else forcing their secular views on the churches.
To their credit, many churches quickly dropped that position and were content with their choice of whether to conduct same sex weddings or not. Which is not the same thing as same sex marriages.
And Christian legislators recognize this, which is why in Michigan there is a bill in the State legislature to remove the ability of civil servants to perform marriage. They wish to restrict marriage only to clergy, so that no "good Christian" judge ever has to marry a gay couple. If only clergy can perform marriages then no one can ever be forced to perform a marriage they don't want to.
It also ensures that there are only a handful of options for marriage available to gay couples. If non one in you town will marry you, tough luck. Go somewhere else... It is simply another barrier to attempt to make it difficult for homosexuals to exercise their rights as Americans. Not a whole lot different that the legal stunts pulled during the Jim Crow era...
-NoCapo
Does the bill just remove civil servants from officiating? Or does it go further and allow only clergy to perform marriages?
If it just bans civil servants from officiating, then the bill might survive judicial review, as long as the civil servants in question still have to issue marriage licenses to legally eligible couples. And as long as recognized officiants aren't limited to clergy.
If it says that only ordained clergy can officiate, then there is an obvious constitutional problem.
Does new ruling mean every church has to marry gay couple? Even those against it? Thanks
All this ruling actually does is to further endorse and sustain the right of individual liberty in this country. It is not intended to infringe upon your personal rights. It may however succeed in further shining a light on the question of churches that promote and perpetuate bigotry, and who use the pulpit to achieve political ends, continuing to enjoy tax exempt status.
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) wondered whether this meant that churches were legally obliged to allow any kind of marriage, even if it went against their religion. As is the usual case, it was more a case of the churches trying to force their religious views on everyone else and pretending that it was everyone else forcing their secular views on the churches.
