Posted on 10/19/2014 6:40:29 AM PDT by WXRGina
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order Friday to stop officials in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from forcing two ordained Christian ministers to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.
City officials told Donald Knapp that he and his wife Evelyn, both ordained ministers who run Hitching Post Wedding Chapel, are required to perform such ceremonies or face months in jail and/or thousands of dollars in fines. The city claims its “non-discrimination” ordinance requires the Knapps to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies now that the courts have overridden Idaho’s voter-approved constitutional amendment that affirmed marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
“The government should not force ordained ministers to act contrary to their faith under threat of jail time and criminal fines,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Many have denied that pastors would ever be forced to perform ceremonies that are completely at odds with their faith, but that’s what is happening here – and it’s happened this quickly. The city is on seriously flawed legal ground, and our lawsuit intends to ensure that this couple’s freedom to adhere to their own faith as pastors is protected just as the First Amendment intended.”
“The government exists to protect and respect our freedoms, not attack them,” Tedesco added. “The city cannot erase these fundamental freedoms and replace them with government coercion and intolerance.”
The Hitching Post Wedding Chapel is across the street from the Kootenai County Clerk’s office, which issues marriage licenses. The Knapps, both in their 60s and who themselves have been married for 47 years, began operating the wedding chapel in 1989 as a ministry. They perform religious wedding ceremonies, which include references to God, the invocation of God’s blessing on the union, brief remarks drawn from the Bible designed to encourage the couple and help them to have a successful marriage, and more. They also provide each couple they marry with a CD that includes two sermons about marriage, and they recommend numerous Christian books on the subject. The Knapps charge a small fee for their services.
Coeur d’Alene officials told the Knapps privately and also publicly stated that the couple would violate the city’s public accommodations statute once same-sex marriage became legal in Idaho if they declined to perform a same-sex ceremony at their chapel. On Friday, the Knapps respectfully declined such a ceremony and now face up to 180 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines for each day they decline to perform that ceremony.
“The city somehow expects ordained pastors to flip a switch and turn off all faithfulness to their God and their vows,” explained ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The U.S. Constitution as well as federal and state law clearly stand against that. The city cannot mandate across-the-board conformity to its interpretation of a city ordinance in utter disregard for the guaranteed freedoms Americans treasure in our society.”
Virginia McNulty Robinson, one of nearly 2,500 private attorneys allied with ADF, is serving as local counsel on behalf of the Knapps in Knapp v. City of Coeur d’Alene, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
In theory, sure. But even in theory, "we" comprises individuals who are pitted against each other. I don't see any meaningful resistance to the power of the government, the prevailing view is to be law abiding, because that's the right way to be.
-- They cannot hope to prevail without our cooperation. --
They are advancing effectively right now, and I suspect against the wishes of a majority of the public.
Really..why?...the government can now requires your to provide services without question?.... Because in get the impression your comming from a libertarian perspective that doesn’t sound very libertarian
so questions. . In Nevada...brothels and prostitution are legal in some areas... are the women in these business required by law to service and and all (male or female) customer.?.. or would that be rape?.
In addition to fighting this on 1st amendment freedom of religion grounds, this needs to be fought on 1st amendment freedom of assembly grounds.
Nope. The law is that "public accommodations" may not discriminate on certain bases, one of the bases being engagement in the immoral conduct of homosexuality.
I still maintain that we resist these actions at all costs. This should be where we take our stand. This is a hill to die, if necessary, on.
Easily solved - Richard, Harrold, well bless your hearts, you want to get married when? Let me check my schedule. Uh, sorry, we’re already booked that day. The next weekend? No, we’ll be on vacation. The next? No, we’re going to West Africa but we could fit you in when we get back.
Just as I predicted years ago. This will be one of many such instances to come.
And they will continue to until they reach a "trigger" point, like they did with Cliven Bundy or this Ferguson situation.
There is little need to worry about "law-abiding" when the chief law enforcement officer in the land applies laws selectively, with the active encouragement of his boss and the media. The social contract is dissolved and the rule of law no longer applies.
I wonder if they stopped charging a fee they'd no longer be a "public accommodation."
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