Churches Changing Bylaws After Gay Marriage Ruling

[47of74]

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.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Clergy have always had the right to refuse a marriage ceremony to anyone they feel like

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]

2. My church marries only its own members

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.