As California Goes...?

Campus Report ^ | July 18, 2008 | Emily Miller

[bs9021]

As California Goes...?

by: Emily Miller, July 18, 2008

The same-sex marriage debate proved to be a politically divisive issue in the 2004 election, and once again the subject dominates the national political landscape during an election year. Yet one aspect of the gay marriage debate remains largely ignored: if and how same-sex marriage threatens religious liberties and the free exercise clause of the First amendment.

Lawyers convened last week at the Family Research Council to discuss the emerging conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty, and noticed an increase in the number of cases filed against religious institutions charged with violating state anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation.

Speaking at the FRC event, Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull described what kind of casework lawyers are currently dealing with in light of the California Supreme Court ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in California:

“Mixed with non-discrimination laws, what we’re seeing is churches now being forced or intimidated or threatened to perform same-sex marriages even though it violates the basic tenets of a church”

In one case—although it was filed prior to the California ruling—Bernstein and Pastor v. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a New Jersey Methodist Church refused to allow a lesbian couple to have their civil-union ceremony on the Church-owned pavilion due to religious reasons. The couple filed a complaint to the New Jersey civil rights agency in 2007 on the grounds of unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation, won the case, and the tax-exempt status previously provided for the Church pavilion was revoked. The Church lost an estimated $20,000.

The outcome of Ocean Grove suggests a trend in which gay rights trump religious liberty in the courtroom, and Bull argues that this negatively affects churches statewide:...

[Maverick68]

....into the dung-heap of history? Oh wait...I was finishing...nevermind...

[Hi Heels]

The sad part is that Californians voted AGAINST this.

[cla62]

Homos = ACLU
If you can’t beat them fairly on the merits of the argument, just keep suing them until they run out of money. Eventually the cash strapped churches will run out of money. Much the same scenario as cash strapped school districts getting sued for rediculous reasons, and just caving in instead of spending money they don’t have!

[caseinpoint]

I read somewhere that right after the licenses were granted in June here in California, the gay rights groups cautioned their members to lie low on lawsuits for awhile to avoid generating a backlash. This tells me two things: first, there are groups and individuals champing at the bit to sue at the drop of a hat, and second, once they feel their cause is a little more secure, the suits will be given a green light by these agenda-setting organizations. I guess it also tells me something else: nothing will ever be enough to satisfy these people until everyone else is labeled a degenerate for opposing them.

[ModelBreaker]

but not at the cost of overly crushing the liberty of religious people?”

This is a moderate fag. He only wants to crush religion a little.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[mngran2]

...and once again the subject dominates the national political landscape during an election year.

What is she talking about? This issue is not dominating the national political landscape. Look at any poll, it's the economy first and the war somewhere a distant second. Gay marriage is hardly on the radar for most people.