Posted on 07/14/2015 12:54:11 PM PDT by NRx
In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, pastors and church members are experiencing a wave of anxiety over what many of them deem the “nightmare scenario”: lawsuits or government action designed to force them to perform or recognize same-sex marriages. While there are — so far — no meaningful judicial precedents that would permit such dramatic interference with churches’ core First Amendment rights, lawsuits challenging church liberties are inevitable.
Indeed, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has declared that prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity “sometimes” apply to churches and has stated that a “church service open to the public” is not a “bona fide religious purpose” that would limit application of the law. In 2012 a New Jersey administrative-law judge ruled that a religious organization “closely associated with the United Methodist Church” wrongly denied access to its facilities for a same-sex wedding.
Churches, like virtually every functioning corporation, protect against liability risks and the potentially ruinous costs of litigation through liability insurance. With same-sex marriage now recognized as a constitutional right — and with news of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries awarding a lesbian couple $135,000 in damages for “emotional, mental and physical suffering” after a Christian bakery refused to bake their wedding cake — pastors are reaching out to insurance companies to make sure they’re covered. And at least one insurer has responded with a preemptory denial: no coverage if a church is sued for refusing to perform a same-sex wedding.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Even the insurance companies see the handwriting on the wall, not just the Churches.
But..but...we’ve been assured by the gay activist crowd their agenda wouldn’t affect religious organizations...
/bitterly sarc.
If what’s happening in this country right now isn’t beginning to look scary to everyone including the most ardent gay “rights” supporters, then they must be fascists at heart and/or brain dead.
The more I think about it, the more insurance looks like a middle road between capitalism with risks, and socialism.
Gee, who coulda possible seen THIS coming???
The wheat will be separating from the chaff in the not too distant future.
I suggest people get right with God sooner rather than later.
So maybe “churches” will end up being “Private Clubs with “membership boards.” Would be interesting.
Homosexuals will be looking for a test case against an insurance company to seal the deal against churches
“We can’t directly force churches to perform same-sex marriage. What else can we do to make them do it”?
The question is never “Should churches be forced to perform same-sex marriage”. That’s assumed. It’s always “How can we achieve our goal”?
I am not a religious guy but this is disgraceful.
Gay marriage is an assault on religion by the left.
Our pastor says he’ll burn our church down before a gay marriage takes place in it. I support him 100%!
People used to look at Germany before WWII and wonder how did it happen. They never thought they would be living through it...but it appears they are.
What if you performed the wedding but didn’t change the litany.
“A man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home and the two shall be joined.”
“God made them male and female...”
All the Biblical references straight(doh) from the KJV.
Play Paul Stookey’s wedding song.
The insurance companies need to be sued for violations of the First Amendment.
Obama will then credit another Church burning to right wingers.
Many churches will limit hosting or performing weddings to members in good standing.
I thought what two people did in the privacy of their own bedroom was not going to affect anyone else.
Liars!
How is insurance different from a wedding cake?
Why can the insurance company deny the Church a policy if a baker can’t deny a homosexual couple a wedding cake?
Well, that should liven things up in church! LOL! I can just see it now - the entire place erupting in indignation. But they were the ones who asked for a Christian wedding.
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