Posted on 04/28/2014 10:29:12 AM PDT by GIdget2004
A group of Charlotte-area ministers have helped launch the country’s first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage, claiming in a lawsuit filed Monday that North Carolina’s laws block them from practicing their religion.
The local religious leaders, who include a rabbi, are joined by colleagues from Asheville and Raleigh along with a national denomination, the United Church of Christ. All of them support the rights of same-sex couples to marry.
They say state prohibitions, including a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2012, violate their First Amendment right of freedom of religion.
“The core protection of the First Amendment is that government may not regulate religious beliefs or take sides in religious controversies,” says Jonathan Martel, a Washington, D.C., attorney helping with the case.
“Marriage performed by clergy is a spiritual exercise and expression of faith essential to the values and continuity of the religion that government may regulate only where it has a compelling interest.”
The lawsuit was expected to be formally announced in 10:30 a.m. Monday press conference at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ. Church pastor Nancy Allison is one of the persons suing Attorney General Roy Cooper and other state officials, asking that the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina strike the laws down.
It becomes the 66th legal challenge to marriage bans now in the courts, three of them in North Carolina. But it is the first to attack same-sex marriage bans on religious grounds, said Charlotte attorney Jake Sussman, lead counsel for the group.
(Excerpt) Read more at charlotteobserver.com ...
If them, why shouldn’t Moslems be able to practice polygamy?
NO, no GAY MARRIAGE in NC. (Do not mess with my state), but how cute that they are trying!
Yes, it is. It is a “church” in name only, but does accurately reflect 0bama’s values.
“They say state prohibitions, including a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2012, violate their First Amendment right of freedom of religion.”
These alleged Christian clergy do not understand the First Amendment and Freedom of Religion.
The entire concept of the First Amendment in a Christian nation is to protect their freedom of religion and not have that freedom corrupted by the state by forcing churches to go against the Bible.
There’s nothing at all stopping any of those “churches” from marrying whoever or whatever they want.
The Bible and the First Amendment should be enough to stop them.
As a contrast, some of the better known members of the United Church of Christ include Howard Dean, Julian Bond, Jim Jeffords and Jon Corzine. Compare that to prominent church of Christ members including Ken Starr (recently converted to Baptist as president of Baylor), Ted Poe, Fred Thompson and, surprisingly, Meat Loaf.
a desecration of the altar which destroys its true purpose. Just so will Antichrist establish an abomination in the sanctuary, a demonic counterfeit worship
I am not a lawyer but I enjoy reading the way judges take apart these garbage arguments. But with the courts the way the are now they’ll probably win.
Exactly right. All word play with them to get unspoken consent of all.
Is this the same Church of Christ that used to not use live music in their Services, and put out little "anti-dancing" tracts? One I saw said, "The passions aroused on the dance floor are often fulfilled after the ball."
Wow, if it's the same Church of Chrst.
The article lies. Church of Christ ministers are not required for a marriage to be legal. Legal weddings are performed hourly throughout that state without Church of Christ ministers being anywhere nearby.
In other words, they are superfluous to any legal wedding. Absolutely unnecessary.
And, like others have pointed out, these ministers can perform all the wedding ceremonies they want. No one is stopping them.
“United Church of Christ” is a communist front organization.
No - Performing marriages without a valid marriage license is illegal in North Carolina -
"No minister, officer, or any other person authorized to solemnize a marriage under the laws of this State shall perform a ceremony of marriage between a man and woman, or shall declare them to be husband and wife, until there is delivered to that person a license for the marriage of the said persons, signed by the register of deeds of the county in which the marriage license was issued or by a lawful deputy or assistant."http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_51.pdf
No - Performing marriages without a valid marriage license is illegal in North Carolina -
"No minister, officer, or any other person authorized to solemnize a marriage under the laws of this State shall perform a ceremony of marriage between a man and woman, or shall declare them to be husband and wife, until there is delivered to that person a license for the marriage of the said persons, signed by the register of deeds of the county in which the marriage license was issued or by a lawful deputy or assistant."http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_51.pdf
No - Performing marriages without a valid marriage license is illegal in North Carolina -
"No minister, officer, or any other person authorized to solemnize a marriage under the laws of this State shall perform a ceremony of marriage between a man and woman, or shall declare them to be husband and wife, until there is delivered to that person a license for the marriage of the said persons, signed by the register of deeds of the county in which the marriage license was issued or by a lawful deputy or assistant."http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_51.pdf
Well - Performing marriages without a valid marriage license is illegal in North Carolina.
"No minister, officer, or any other person authorized to solemnize a marriage under the laws of this State shall perform a ceremony of marriage between a man and woman, or shall declare them to be husband and wife, until there is delivered to that person a license for the marriage of the said persons, signed by the register of deeds of the county in which the marriage license was issued or by a lawful deputy or assistant."http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_51.pdf
Sounds like an unconstitutional state law to me.
Understood.But I'm addressing "marriage" as it would be described by a religious denomination.The Episcopalians (for example) are free,and should be free,to declare any two (or more) creatures to be "married" in the eyes of their "God".But to perform a "marriage" that's recognized by the government,for the purposes of filing a joint tax return (for example) certain requirements must be met...as you've noted.
I think most states have laws like that, don’t they? I know more than just NC has it. My point was that if a state refuses to issue a license for people of a certain faith, there are many faiths that would simply break those laws. The alternative would be no one ever gets married in the faith. So far it has never been put to the test on a wide scale. Those laws get brought up occasionally when older widowed couples wish to be married in the faith but not to tell the state so as not to have their pensions and benefits altered.
For instance, if a state quit issuing marriage licenses to those faiths that didn’t accept civil divorce and remarriages or ‘gay marriage’ the groups that haven’t accepted civil divorce and remarriage or ‘gay marriage’ would have to drop being involved in civil marriage at all, they would have no choice. They would just have to break the law and take the consequences. Here’s an article that talks about the Catholic Church dropping civil involvement in the US.
http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2012/11/the-crisis-of-a-second-obama-administration
Freegards
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