Gay/LGBT Religious News (T22R-1)
San Francisco Chronicle | Divide widens over religious exemptions on gay marriage Atlanta Journal Constitution The battle over gay marriage is heating up in the states, energizing religious groups that oppose same-sex relationships â€" but also dividing them. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court gave married gays and heterosexuals equal status under federal law, but ... Same-sex marriage: Fearing lawsuits, some churches rewrite bylaws Residents weigh in on same-sex marriage |
Fault lines emerge in issues regarding gay marriage Times Daily The battle over gay marriage is heating up in the states, energizing religious groups that oppose same-sex relationships â€" but also dividing them. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court gave married gays and heterosexuals equal status under federal law, but ... |
Religious Freedom Includes Discriminating Against Gay People, Claims Focus ... Opposing Views Last week, the New Mexico State Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lesbian couple who claimed they were discriminated against by a Christian photographer, Elaine Huguenin, who refused to take pictures of their commitment ceremony in 2006. The New ... |
The New Anti-Gay Argument: "The Gag Reflex" Religion Dispatches (blog) The real reason conservatives are losing the "cultural battle" over gay marriage is because they have stopped focusing on the public's "gag reflex," says Baptist Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile of the The Gospel Coalition (whose founders include Mars Hill's ... |
The Guardian | New Jersey's ban on gay conversion therapy is a victory over religious nuts The Guardian As of this week, gay conversion therapy is outlawed in the state of New Jersey. Kids who are either gay or suspected of being gay cannot be forced by their parents to endure homophobic corrective therapy, which assemblyman and bill sponsor Tim Eustice ... |
Gay Star News | Proof religious people want to hurt gay 'sinners' Gay Star News Anti-gay Christians claim their attitude to homosexuality is 'love the sinner' but 'hate the sin'. But scientists have proved that is a myth and they really want to physically hurt gays. Gay Star News has seen an advanced copy of a study, not yet ... |
Washington Blade | NJ gay conversion therapy ban challenged in federal court Religion News Service (RNS) New Jersey's newly enacted ban on gay-to-straight conversion therapy for minors violates a licensed therapist's obligation to “respect the rights of clients to make decisions,†according to a federal lawsuit filed by a Christian counselors group ... Sleepless in New Jersey - Christie Drinks the LGBT Kool-Aid Conservative group files lawsuit against NJ 'ex-gay' therapy ban |
Texas AG Greg Abbott: San Antonio Ordinance Protecting Gays Would Curb ... Towleroad What these religious bigots don't understand, or don't care to understand, is that their religious expression isn't being denied or taken away. They can continue being religious and anti-gay. Businesses can continue to promote themselves as religious ... |
The Quiet Gay-Rights Revolution in America's Churches The Atlantic For most gay Americans in the 20th century, the church was a place of pain. It cast them out and called them evil. It cleaved them from their families. It condemned their love and denied their souls. In 2004, a president was elected when religious ... |
| td> | LGBT activists face conservative culture, religious discrimination Southeast European Times What do you get if you put three hardened war criminals from the former Yugoslavia into a flaming pink mini and send them on a road trip with a gay rights activist from Belgrade? When Serbian film director Srdan Dragojevic did it he got a surprising ... |
As the great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.†And as far as Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins is concerned, the fight to stop the legalization of same-sex marriage is far from over.
In a recent fundraising email on behalf of FRC’s lobbying arm, Perkins ranted that the Supreme Court’s June ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) didn’t really do much.
“The media would have you believe, and the radical homosexual activists would have you believe, and the liberals in Washington would have you believe that the case is closed because the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was the last word,†he said.
“But they’re wrong,†he continued. “The high court’s DOMA ruling, wrong-headed as it was, only struck down Section 3 of the law: this means people in same-sex ‘marriages’ who live in states that allow it, can receive federal marriage benefits -- technically, once you get beyond the bluster of Justice Kennedy, the ruling accomplishes nothing more.â€
Hate to break it to you, Tony, but you and the FRC are going down on this one, big time. It’s true that some states still oppose marriage-equality either through legislation or in their constitutions, but the Supreme Court said DOMA violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment. That’s a huge step toward marriage equality, and it is already leading to swift changes.
Just yesterday, the IRS announced it would extend federal tax benefits to same-sex couples (including joint filing). Some local officials in New Mexico and Pennsylvania are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This is surely just the beginning, since support for marriage equality is at an all-time high. Â
But let’s entertain Perkins, for a moment. Tell us, Tony, just what will happen if same-sex marriage is legal in every state?
“On an economic level: disaster,†Perkins warned. “The Government Accounting Office has determined there are some 1,138 mentions of marriage in federal law. This means nationwide legalization of same-sex ‘marriage’ will make an enormous negative impact on the government’s budget and thus the country financially.â€
Huh? So allowing more people to get married somehow trashes the economy? That’s funny, coming from a group that claims to be “pro-marriage.†(Also, Tony, I think you meant to say “Government Accountability Office,†since there is no “Accounting†office.)
Perkins also warned of a loss of “religious liberty.â€
“Forcing the redefinition of marriage on all states will mean a loss of religious liberty,†he wrote. “It already means parents are no longer in control of what their children are taught about sexual morality in public schools. It already means bakers and florists and photographers are being forced to participate in same-sex ‘weddings’ or face fines and lawsuits. Christian business owners are suffering the consequences as provisions of this law are imposed upon them.â€
What Perkins doesn’t seem to get is that “religious liberty†doesn’t give anyone a right to discriminate. Anyone can believe whatever they want about marriage, but those beliefs should not guarantee someone the right to treat someone else like a lesser human being.
Perkins even tried to justify his position against marriage equality as the mere expression of his religious beliefs rather than homophobia.
“There is nothing hateful about standing for marriage and doing our best in public policy to ensure that a child has a mother and a father,†he said. “But once this position becomes ‘hate,’ and hate becomes a crime, Christians will be in more trouble than ever.â€
“This is no longer simply about marriage,†he added. “This is about the federal government maneuvering a step closer to being able to silence Bible-believing churches and their values....â€
That tiresome argument just won’t work. No churches are being forced to perform same-sex weddings because the Constitution already guarantees that they don’t have to do so. Nor is anybody in government out to silence churches or trash the Bible. Â
And you can pretend all you want that you care about how children are raised, but we know this is really about forcing your own idea about marriage onto other people.
Sorry, Tony, but you’re on the losing end of this battle. Take a look at some polls. Note the large numbers of young people who say they support same-sex marriage. The future does not bode well for you.
Tony, you and supporters of the FRC can continue to wail all you like, but it might be better to simply face facts: Your cause is a lost one.
P.S. The Wall of Separation will be on hiatus until Tuesday September 3.
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