By Ryan T. Anderson, The Daily Signal
For years, those in favor of same-sex marriage have argued that all Americans should be free to live as they choose. And yet in countless cases, the government has coerced those who simply wish to be free to live in accordance with their belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.
Just last weekend, a case has arisen in Idaho, where city officials have told ordained ministers they have to celebrate same-sex weddings or face fines and jail time.
The Idaho case involves Donald and Evelyn Knapp, both ordained ministers, who run Hitching Post Wedding Chapel. Officials from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, told the couple that because the city has a non-discrimination statute that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, and because the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Idaho’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, the couple would have to officiate at same-sex weddings in their own chapel.
For more information:
The Reformed Pastor blog: Chapel ordered to hold same-sex wedding
Alliance Defending Freedom: Govt tells Christian ministers: Perform same-sex weddings or face jail, fines
From the Gospel Coalition: Should Christian marriage chapels be legal? Should they even exist?
4 Comments. Leave new
Dear Layman,
I am amazed that we are witnessing the destruction of the First Amendment by the federal courts and local governments. The Establishment Clause has been violated by activist judges who seek to establish a Unitarian theological form of faith that is being imposed on Christian Churches, Jewish congregants, etc. at the clear expense of Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Association, and Freedom of Speech, which until recently was guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The federal courts interpretation of social norms that must be adopted and followed by Christians, Jews, etc. or else criminal and civil penalties will follow, clearly seeks to Establish the theological tenants of Unitarian forms of faith, which find themselves in favor with the political elite, at the expense of Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Association, and Freedom of Speech, once protected by the First Amendment, which protected Christians, Jews, and other faiths in their worship and in the living of their daily lives. The First Amendment has been deleted from the United States Constitution after 226 years, by federal judges charged with protecting them, by city council members charged with protecting them. I am shocked. And this is America, and this is America. . . . Be sure to vote.
In Christ,
John Almquist
Here’s what the City of Coeur d’Alene wrote on their Facebook page:
“The city of Coeur d’Alene has been contacted by a huge volume of people inquiring about our anti-discrimination ordinance, passed in 2013 by the City Council. These contacts have been a reaction to a lawsuit filed by the owners of a local marriage chapel, the Hitching Post, which claims the city has taken inappropriate action against their business for their decision to not perform same-sex marriages. In fact, the city has received no complaints about the Hitching Post and we have never threatened them. If we did get a complaint we would investigate it like any other complaint to determine if there is a legitimate violation of a city code. If we investigate it and determine that they fall within our exemption for religious corporations, we would not pursue it further because they would be exempt.”
Further, City of Coeur d’Alene spokesperson Keith Erickson made clear that the City has “never threatened to jail them, or take legal action of any kind.”
This is why I have not registered in my state to officiate weddings on their behalf. I offer a Christian marriage ceremony but the participants must go to the JOP to get the paperwork signed. Therefore I cannot be forced to marry anyone. The problem here is when ministers register to be agents of the state to witness weddings and officiate. If you register with them you owe them that to which you agreed. Don’t register and the state can’t make you officiate anything. Offer a Christian service and leave the paperwork to the judges.
the inevitable evolution of this is for any two people to declare themselves legally a couple in order to facilitate assets transfers, secure social security benefits and the like. in my opinion most of the clamoring for equal rights has nothing to do with religious beliefs and everything to do with money.