Posted on 07/09/2007 12:29:45 PM PDT by bahblahbah
A lesbian couple in New Jersey has filed a complaint against a Methodist-owned campground, claiming illegal discrimination because their request for a civil union ceremony on the property was denied.
Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster in March applied for use of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association's Boardwalk Pavilion for their civil union ceremony, planned for September. The Methodist organization rejected their application and later told Bernstein in an email that it did not allow civil unions to be held on the pavilion.
Bernstein and Paster filed a complaint against the OGCMA in June, alleging illegal discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.
In their complaint, the couple requested "whatever relief is provided by law" including "compensatory damages for economic loss, humiliation, [and] mental pain." They also demanded that the pavilion be made available for their ceremony.
At a meeting of members, chief administrative officer Rev. Scott Hoffman argued that the campground had every right to prohibit civil unions. He called the pavilion a "church building" that "has always been used for worship services and gospel concerts."
The OGCMA is a Methodist organization, with a board of trustees comprising 10 pastors and 10 lay people. As such, the organization operates according to Methodist teachings, Hoffman said.
"Those who make decisions are bound to the United Methodist Book of Discipline, which states that homosexual unions cannot be performed in church buildings, whether by clergy or lay people," he said.
Hoffman also pointed out that locations not used for worship purposes - including the boardwalk and the beach - were open for civil union ceremonies.
Garden State Equality, a political action organization that represents "the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community," asked supporters to write to the OGCMA, saying the civil unions ban was an affront to the Ocean Grove community.
"It's hard to believe this is happening in our progressive state of New Jersey," GSE says on its website.
The organization contended that the ban was illegal, saying that it "violates the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination because the property is, in fact, public ... by virtue of having been used by the public for many years."
But the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group that is representing the OGCMA in the dispute, said that forcing the pavilion to host civil unions would be unconstitutional.
Brian Raum, ADF senior legal counsel, said enforcing the complaint would intrude on the rights of the Methodists as a religious organization.
"The government shouldn't force churches to violate their own religious principles," he said. "Private, religious property owners have the right to decide what can and cannot take place on their property."
According to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, entities that "offer goods, services, and facilities to the general public" are prohibited from "directly or indirectly denying or withholding any accommodation, service, benefit, or privilege to an individual" on the basis of sexual orientation.
But according to the ADF, New Jersey is still subject to the First Amendment, and state statutes that limit liberties guaranteed by the Constitution must be overturned.
New Jersey is considered to be one of the most liberal states in America. Last October, the state Supreme Court gave the New Jersey legislature 180 days to provide for civil unions under the law, and the legislature has complied.
Same-sex "marriage" is still illegal in New Jersey, although it is favored by 56 percent of residents, according to a Zogby poll.
Good question! Let's see what happens if they walk into a mosque and make the same demands.
This is exactly what the opponents of gay marriage have been talking about all along.It’s the basic incrementalist strategy that the Left uses on just about everything. They do it on the gun issue, rights for criminals, gay “rights” and so on.
They look happy. Gay even.
Don’t like it too much when the ‘separation of church and state’ they keep screaming about works against them, do they?
I love it.
Hope the Church stands its ground on this.
“Pray tell, what Christian response do you have in mind?”
I’m not talking about a “Christian” response. I am saying that this minority is going to keep pushing and pushing until everyday Joe and Jane American feel cornered.
When they do, watch out.
You got a problem with that?
That is exactly my point.
Of course they do. They’re actresses, thespians! even, and they’re getting paid to look happy!
Crikey! Those pictures are like the mugshots of the crack addict circling the drain over the years!
and I was agreeing with you.
Any resemblance between your photo and the real life thing is purely coincidental...
Under your interpretation of the issue, the churches would be forced to open their doors to civil unions, as well. Is that what you are saying?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The lesbian marriage thing is all about subverting the church doctrine. This was bound to happen. The next step is forcing civil unions inside the church and making it against the law to say that homosexuality is immoral. Then it is only a short step to pedophilia.
Your right about the private groups and the right of association, as in the Boy Scouts. But the Church is more than an association, and the state has no right to interfere in the interpretation of the that doctrine. Yet if the church turned away Blacks, would the state interfere?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I agree, whole heartedly, but will the courts see it that way?
That was my point.
It’s all about judging the actions, not the person. Civil unions are equal to marriage in the eyes of the state, but can they force the church to view them as equal, to condone them?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Intersex? What the heck is that? These groups keep adding new proclivities to their names. Why don't they just name it the "Do Whoever You Feel Like" community?
We had friends who lived in Ocean Grove, when we lived in Jersey 20 years ago. It was a quaint little place. Houses were WAY too close together for my taste, but folks who lived there seemed to like it. I liked Avon-by-the-Sea, myself.
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