In the wake of his endorsement of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, ministers have been arrested for performing marriages between same-sex couples. Neither the couples nor the ministers signed civil licenses, but instead simply performed a ceremony (Source: Associated Press, March 15, 2004).
As long as no legal documents are signed, isn't it ministers' and couples' own business what they do in their churches? Why should they be arrested when they didn’t break any laws
2006-10-13 06:27:17 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
Shiraz: answer the question: if you can't don't show up here.
2006-10-13 07:48:42 · update #1
Wow, some of these Christians Conservatives are just filled with Christ's love aren't they? I'm not aware of the story you are talking about but it sounds like more of the same to me. Christians love to moan about how they're persecuted but don't seem to have much of a problem dishing out the persecution. What you have stated would be yet another fine example.
2006-10-13 06:34:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 7⤋
A) Bush isn't responsible for every conservative in every town. Ministers and churches are supposed to be sacred, and the definition of sacred changes depending on what religion and/or sect you are in. I'd say the locals have the right to discuss and/or forbid things they do not approve of in their churches.
As for the arrests - there's another thread that might have some answers about police, it's the link below.
B) Many people regard the ceremony as spiritually binding, and therefore view gay "marriages" performed by a minister in a church as blasphemy. And I mean, you can see their point. Several religious books and/or religious leaders (of various religions) ban homosexuality. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4579146.stm
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=5704
& the Torah/Old Testment says to stone sodomites. I believe that Buddhists are told to live a chaste life and separate from worldy desires, but I'm not sure if they have anything specifically about homosexuals.
Therefore, it's highly likely that in whatever religion the ministers are in (the quote doesn't say), they were committing blasphemy in the eyes of at least a portion of the congregation.
2006-10-13 13:41:30 · answer #2 · answered by ? 1 · 3⤊ 2⤋
If any people were arrested and / or charged in connection with conducting same sex marriages, it had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not President Bush endorses a same-sex marriage ban. It hasn't been passed. It is not a federal law. Those arrests / charges could only have been brought by local or state authorities.
2006-10-13 13:31:39 · answer #3 · answered by roamin70 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Interesting. So W signed the arrest warrants, did he?
Has it occurred to you that States issue marriage licenses, and States have the right, under the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution, to regulate marriage and enforce their licensing requirements?
Has it occurred to you that marriage licensing, in the US, is a State institution, and not a religious one?
Has it occurred to you that this falls under the "general welfare clause" of the US C, and not the "separation of religion/State clause?"
2006-10-14 13:24:24 · answer #4 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Bush isn't enforcing any religious doctrine. One can be against gay marriage and be an atheist.
2006-10-13 17:20:41 · answer #5 · answered by C = JD 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've been thinking about this & abortion. I mean, really,
if 2 people want to marry, why should the gov. think it's any
of their business? It's none of their business & just shows that
they're thinking about the wrong things instead of concentrating
on what they should, like their loser war or the poverty in
their own country.
And abortion - how did a group of Men decide it was their
business to tell a woman what she could do with her body?
And the women who support them! I don't get it. I don't want
anyone telling me what I can & can't do, esp., someone who
has never lived in a woman's body. I think it's called repression.
Next week a new book is comming out "Tempting Faith".
The author is going to tell all about how bush really feels
about the Evangelists behind their backs.
Promising them all kinds of stuff for their votes & then
ignoring them. Or should I say "using" them?!
2006-10-13 13:37:07 · answer #6 · answered by Calee 6 · 3⤊ 4⤋
Uh, in case you weren't aware, it was action taken by the state of NY, not the Federal government. So as much as you want to blame everything on Bush, your tedious sense of outrage is misplaced due to your inaccurate reading of the facts.
You need to take your umbrage to the NY Supreme Court and Governor Pataki.
2006-10-13 13:50:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 3⤋
Better than the humanistic doctrine that got America in this mess.
2006-10-13 15:09:47 · answer #8 · answered by CM 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Wow there are a ton of conservatives on this site.
Listen, "thou shalt not judge", does that sound familiar? If two people love each other, in a world that is so loveless anymore, who the h*ll are we to tell them not to?
2006-10-13 13:41:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 3⤋
We have been saying for quite a while now that this country is sinking into the fourth Reich. Hitler had nothing on this administration. If you consider some believe that 9/11 was copied directly from the Hitler case book, I rest my case.
I am appalled at what has become a country governed by the rule of fear.
2006-10-13 13:33:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 7⤋