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47of74

(18,470 posts)
Sat Aug 24, 2013, 06:48 PM Aug 2013

Churches Changing Bylaws After Gay Marriage Ruling

Oh, how nice.

Worried they could be sued by gay couples, some churches are changing their bylaws to reflect their view that the Bible allows only marriage between one man and one woman.

Although there have been lawsuits against wedding industry businesses that refuse to serve gay couples, attorneys promoting the bylaw changes say they don't know of any lawsuits against churches.

Critics say the changes are unnecessary, but some churches fear that it's only a matter of time before one of them is sued.




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Churches Changing Bylaws After Gay Marriage Ruling (Original Post) 47of74 Aug 2013 OP
Clergy have always had the right to refuse a marriage ceremony to anyone they feel like Lydia Leftcoast Aug 2013 #1
My church marries only its own members Jeff In Milwaukee Sep 2013 #2

Lydia Leftcoast

(48,217 posts)
1. Clergy have always had the right to refuse a marriage ceremony to anyone they feel like
Sat Aug 24, 2013, 09:15 PM
Aug 2013

Some religions perform ceremonies only for their own members and will refuse a ceremony if one of their members marries outside the faith.

This is different from, say, a bakery refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, or, as in one case being bandied about among evangelicals, a church-owned social hall that was available to the general public for rental for wedding receptions--until a gay couple tried to rent it.

The gay couple sued, and evangelicals used it as an example of "persecution."

Nope, not according to law. If your business is available to the public, that means ALL the public.

Jeff In Milwaukee

(13,992 posts)
2. My church marries only its own members
Tue Sep 10, 2013, 01:18 PM
Sep 2013

For no reason other than the pastors are too busy to be running a "wedding chapel" business on the side. They may, at their own discretion, perform ceremonies at venues off-site.

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