tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post480483377478112586..comments2024-03-29T07:15:02.402+13:00Comments on AmeriNZ Blog: Religious exemption unnecessaryArthur Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10568299067544221996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-23883973930608592502012-09-04T07:37:12.555+12:002012-09-04T07:37:12.555+12:00I don't pretend to know what 50 US state laws ...I don't pretend to know what 50 US state laws say, but what you say is certainly common practice, even if not expressly permitted in law. I've heard of Catholic priests who refused to perform weddings for <i>Catholic</i> couples because one or both persons was divorced.<br /><br />Some churches have refused to perform weddings unless one of the couple is a member, or someone in their family is. And, of course, there was also that case recently in which that Mississippi church <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/30/us/mississippi-black-couple-wedding/index.html" rel="nofollow">refused to marry a black couple</a>.<br /><br />The point is, churches have long refused to perform wedding ceremonies for doctrinal, vile or merely silly reasons, and society seems to accept that.<br /><br />What <i>WILL</i> change under marriage equality is that the law will no longer enforce the religious views of only the most conservative religions, and those churches that actually <i><b>want</b></i> to perform weddings for loving same gender couples will, for the first time ever, be allowed to. I think that expanding religious freedom and human rights all at the same time is pretty exceptional.Arthur Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10568299067544221996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-57057313505867098242012-09-04T00:22:29.035+12:002012-09-04T00:22:29.035+12:00I'm sure this is true in the US as well, tho I...I'm sure this is true in the US as well, tho I'd be hard pressed to cite specific law. Catholic priests have refused to perform 'mixed marriages' (between a Catholic and a Protestant) for generations, though some will.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.com