Kansas Gov. Brownback issues ‘religious freedom’ order covering anti-marriage equality clergy

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters

Kansas Republican Governor Sam Brownback on Tuesday issued an executive order protecting the religious freedom of clergy and organizations that oppose same-sex marriage as his state moved to implement the law and recognize same-sex healthcare benefits.

The order prohibits Kansas from discriminating against an individual clergy, religious leader or a religious organization that chooses not to participate in a gay marriage based on their beliefs, Brownback said in a statement.

“We … recognize that religious liberty is at the heart of who we are as Kansans and Americans, and should be protected,” he said.

The order comes two weeks after the Supreme Court’s ruling that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, a landmark decision that handed a historic triumph to the American gay rights movement.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/kansas-gov-brownback-issues-religious-freedom-order-covering-anti-marriage-equality-clergy/

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. A sop to the wingnut base, since no church is required

to marry same-sex couples if they don't believe in it. Their religious freedom to be hateful bigots because of a warped interpretation of Christianity (Jesus never having breathed a word about homosexual relationships that we know of) was never in jeopardy. But yeah, go ahead and issue an order that says what the law has always been, because the haters were so afraid that Obama's jackbooted government thugs would come to their churches and make them conduct fabulous gay weddings (after taking their guns, of course).

[randome]

7. Precisely. An entirely toothless edict.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[tazkcmo]

10. You are correct!

And the Kansas voters will eat this up and re-elect Brownback (sounds like a verb!) to a third term even as the Kansas statehouse is repossessed due to bankruptcy.

[RiverNoord]

11. Such as...

cutting off TANF payments for those who use them on cruise ships?...

Kansas is rapidly becoming the worst-governed state in the past 50 years, and there is some really first-rate competition for that honor...

[HassleCat]

2. Yawn

While his state sinks like a stone beneath the weight of his idiocy and incompetence, Brownback spends his time issuing unnecessary orders to protect those who don't need it from meaningless threats.

[underpants]

8. Yes, this is already protected by every measure that has been passed

either by popular vote or in legislatures

[padfun]

3. I find it strange

that they call discrimination a religious freedom.

So do I have a political freedom to discriminate against anyone? They seem to think so.

[christx30]

9. Yes, they believe that anyone has the right

to discriminate against anyone else for any reason. So if you don't want Christians in your store, you'll get hate mail and a boycott, but no one is going to sue to because of it.

[cstanleytech]

4. WTF? This is truly absurd since the SCOTUS ruling in no way, shape or form forces any religion

to perform a marriage.

[immoderate]

5. If I have this straight, it's NOT illegal to discriminate against gays, but it is illegal ...

to discriminate against those who do discriminate? We're still in Kansas.

--imm

[GeorgeGist]

6. Good pander to the RW.

But totally unnecessary IRL.