Posted on 04/30/2014 8:13:57 AM PDT by Flame Retardant
A coalition of clergy members is challenging North Carolina's constitutional ban on gay marriage with an unusual approach in a federal lawsuit: They say it violates their religious freedom.
The clergy members said in the lawsuit filed Monday that they'd like to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies in their congregations, but they can't because of the "unjust law."...
"North Carolina's marriage laws are a direct affront to freedom of religion," said the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, executive minister with the Cleveland-based United Church of Christ, which is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "We feel that it is important that any person that comes into community life of a United Church of Christ congregation be afforded equal pastoral care and equal opportunity to religious services that clergy provide."
But in North Carolina, clergy are often faced with a troubling decision — "whether to provide those services or break the law," Guess said. "That's something no clergy member should be faced with."...
(Excerpt) Read more at blueridgenow.com ...
The key point on which all else rests.
given that these dopes WORSHIP all things homosexual...
given that these dopes WORSHIP all things homosexual...
They can do the wedding ceremony, it just isn’t legally binding. What’s the problem? Religions which recognize polygamy perform their ceremonies, they just aren’t legally binding.
This is bogus, because nobody is preventing them from performing a homosexual ceremony, if their religion allows for that.
These alleged clergy can perform all the fake marriage ceremonies they want, no one is stoping them.
That doesn’t mean there must be government sanction.
impeach obama
What’s the big deal. These apostates and evildoers can perform same sex marriages in their so-called churches. Nothing prevents them from practicing their fouled up religion however they want. It just won’t be recognized by the state. That’s the other half of religious freedom these anti-christs don’t seem to understand. The government can’t prevent them from “marrying” sodomites, and they can’t force the government to recognize their sodomite marriages.
Is this an lost Episode script of ‘In the Heat of the Night’?
Uh they can...any man and woman can be married (assuming they aren't already married) by the clergy. What's not equal about that?
Well if they want to say you have to include same-sex marriages then I want to marry 1 woman...nevermind the fact that I'm already married, but that was by the state and I really want equal rights to marry whomever I choose.
Clergy are free to marry anyone they want. The marriage just may not be legally binding.
Show the judge where the Bible addresses homosexual marriage. Maybe Mormons can make up some passages and use them. But these folks claim to be Christians.
Bingo!
These so-called churches appear to be like Zero’s Chicago church. Prabably believe there’s a big space ship up there waiting to take them away. Can’t happen too soon!
All of the world’s major religions believe in marriage being between a man and a woman. Homosexuality has always been around, and every religion recognized it as abnormal behavior. This is just the LBGT community attempting to destroy the institution of marriage, as many gays have stated.
the right/conservative/logical part of society having conceding rational non-religious arguments to prohibit recreational sex fetish marriage to the left; the left is now confident enough to take away the mere religious arguments.
what if these are not religions which use the Bible?
what if it is a made up religion like wicca or if it is Satanism or a religion of hedonism?
Ҥ 51-6. Solemnization without license unlawful.
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. There must be at least two witnesses to the marriage ceremony.”
From here, as pointed out by a Freeper in another thread:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_51.pdf
I think a lot of states have this on the books, it comes up occasionally when widowed folks want to be married again but not have their benefits or pension affected. I don’t know if it is enforced, whenever I have heard of it the religious entity uses it for justification to not perform the ceremony, not that the state prosecutes the minister.
Bottom line is if a faith group believes the parties are suitable for marriage, it’s not much of a faith group if it isn’t willing to take the punishment for declaring someone married without a state license.
Freegards
Where their case fails is that they have been just fine with the marriage laws up until the very recent slender sliver of history.
What changed?
“Rev. J. Bennett Guess, executive minister with the Cleveland-based United Church of Christ, which is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.”
I think the good reverend needs to read his Bible more.
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