09-06-2015, 09:59 AM
There will be people who refuse to acknowledge marriage equality as a right under the law for a while; that's no surprise. It happened when equal rights were extended to include women, blacks, inter-racial couples, etc...
If those resisters are government employees who refuse to provide services to gays -- in regards to marriage or anything else, based on their interpretations of Christianity -- then they're doing so in violation of the Constitution.
As agents of the government, their religious beliefs are to be kept separate from their public service governance/duties. But, of course, they're free as doves to exercise whatever religion they choose when they're off the government clock.
That's the law, and it's consistently been confirmed under Supreme Court rulings regarding the "separation of church and state" intent in the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.
America is not the "United Christian States" by intent. We will never be under government/state religion like the "Jewish State of Israel" or the "Islamic State of Iran", unless the First Amendment is amended.
As I see it, Christians aren't under attack in the Kim Davis story and ones like it. Rather, the Constitution is being disregarded and maligned by some conservative Christians.
I don't have a problem with Christians, Jews, Muslims...practicing their religions freely -- that is their personal/individual right, as it should be.
But, the fact that some very conservative Christians feel entitled to impose their personal beliefs on the government and re-write governmental job descriptions to suit their fancies is not righteous.
And, the fact that some Christians thereby marginalize the beliefs of millions of other Christians whose beliefs do not include God condemning gays or gay marriage is also not righteous, in my opinion. It's like an extremist trifecta, as I see it: (1) condemn gay unions based on what they believe God wants (though nowhere is that stated in the Bible), (2) disregard or attempt to redefine the Constitution to justify that condemnation, and (3) consequently dismiss the beliefs and deride the morals of other Christians in the process.
If those resisters are government employees who refuse to provide services to gays -- in regards to marriage or anything else, based on their interpretations of Christianity -- then they're doing so in violation of the Constitution.
As agents of the government, their religious beliefs are to be kept separate from their public service governance/duties. But, of course, they're free as doves to exercise whatever religion they choose when they're off the government clock.
That's the law, and it's consistently been confirmed under Supreme Court rulings regarding the "separation of church and state" intent in the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.
America is not the "United Christian States" by intent. We will never be under government/state religion like the "Jewish State of Israel" or the "Islamic State of Iran", unless the First Amendment is amended.
As I see it, Christians aren't under attack in the Kim Davis story and ones like it. Rather, the Constitution is being disregarded and maligned by some conservative Christians.
I don't have a problem with Christians, Jews, Muslims...practicing their religions freely -- that is their personal/individual right, as it should be.
But, the fact that some very conservative Christians feel entitled to impose their personal beliefs on the government and re-write governmental job descriptions to suit their fancies is not righteous.
And, the fact that some Christians thereby marginalize the beliefs of millions of other Christians whose beliefs do not include God condemning gays or gay marriage is also not righteous, in my opinion. It's like an extremist trifecta, as I see it: (1) condemn gay unions based on what they believe God wants (though nowhere is that stated in the Bible), (2) disregard or attempt to redefine the Constitution to justify that condemnation, and (3) consequently dismiss the beliefs and deride the morals of other Christians in the process.