Ok. Let me begin with this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/anticipating-nationwide-right-to-same-sex-marriage-states-weigh-religious-exemption-bills.html?_r=0
I do not believe that the US government has the right to march into a church, synagogue, mosque or any other house of worship/prayer and tell people how to believe. I do, however, take issue with discrimination being legislated for.
The kind of legislation being talked about (or enacted) would allow a business to refuse services to someone based on religious grounds. In other words, if you own a florist shop and two women walked in to buy flowers for their wedding, it would be legal to refuse them service because you object to two women marrying based on religious grounds. Really? Do people really understand what this can lead to? Not to mention the fact that I personally find it just plain mean.
Let's spin out a possible scenario under the type of legislation discussed above. I belong to religious group A. Pretend I own a rental hall with beautiful grounds. Now, let's say someone from religious group B wishes to marry someone from religious group A. I object to that on 'religious' grounds because I feel it is against my religious beliefs to allow someone from group A to marry someone from group B.
History is full of folks who couldn't marry between faiths. As I recall, when I lived in the UAE, a Christian woman could marry a Muslim man, but a Christian man couldn't marry a Muslim woman. Do we really want that kind of law in the US? I know that I don't.
Refusing service on religious grounds is a slippery slope. It opens the door wide for all kinds of prejudices to be acted upon, legally. What if I as a married woman walked into a bank and couldn't open a bank account without my husband's permission? Could I be refused because I don't have my husband's permission because I'm supposed to 'submit' to my husband's authority? Slippery slippery slope.
Peace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/anticipating-nationwide-right-to-same-sex-marriage-states-weigh-religious-exemption-bills.html?_r=0
I do not believe that the US government has the right to march into a church, synagogue, mosque or any other house of worship/prayer and tell people how to believe. I do, however, take issue with discrimination being legislated for.
The kind of legislation being talked about (or enacted) would allow a business to refuse services to someone based on religious grounds. In other words, if you own a florist shop and two women walked in to buy flowers for their wedding, it would be legal to refuse them service because you object to two women marrying based on religious grounds. Really? Do people really understand what this can lead to? Not to mention the fact that I personally find it just plain mean.
Let's spin out a possible scenario under the type of legislation discussed above. I belong to religious group A. Pretend I own a rental hall with beautiful grounds. Now, let's say someone from religious group B wishes to marry someone from religious group A. I object to that on 'religious' grounds because I feel it is against my religious beliefs to allow someone from group A to marry someone from group B.
History is full of folks who couldn't marry between faiths. As I recall, when I lived in the UAE, a Christian woman could marry a Muslim man, but a Christian man couldn't marry a Muslim woman. Do we really want that kind of law in the US? I know that I don't.
Refusing service on religious grounds is a slippery slope. It opens the door wide for all kinds of prejudices to be acted upon, legally. What if I as a married woman walked into a bank and couldn't open a bank account without my husband's permission? Could I be refused because I don't have my husband's permission because I'm supposed to 'submit' to my husband's authority? Slippery slippery slope.
Peace.
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Be peaceful and respectful.