Coeur d‘Alene, Idaho, city officials have laid down the law to Christian pastors within their community, telling them bluntly via an ordinance that if they refuse to marry homosexuals, they will face jail time and fines.
The dictate comes on the heels of a legal battle with Donald and Evelyn Knapp, ordained ministers who own the Hitching Post wedding chapel in the city, but who oppose gay marriage, The Daily Caller reported.
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The Knapps were just asked by a gay couple to perform their wedding ceremony, The Daily Caller reported.
“On Friday, a same-sex couple asked to be married by the Knapps, and the Knapps politely declined,” The Daily Signal reported. “The Knapps now face a 180-day jail term and a $1,000 fine for each day they decline to celebrate the same-sex wedding.”
23 comments
Come on, guys. Fundies already think Christians are persecuted, no need to help them along. Even if I don't agree with their believes, that is a pretty harsh punishment. You're just asking for fundies to converge in your city in protest, do you really want that?
is it a "for profit" "church", i.e. run as a profitmaking business, or as a tax-free church?
It makes a difference in law
Just whip out a copy of the Constitution and show them the First Amendment. No religion should be forced to perform marriages against their beliefs.
Of course, my opinion is that they should get with the times, but if they want to remain backwards to where nobody wants to follow their religion any more, that's fine too.
*edit* Oh, just saw in the comments that it's a for-profit wedding chapel. That changes things a bit. If you're running a for-profit business and paying taxes, then you need to follow the law.
Also: Who the hell wants to get married in a place called "The Hitching Post?" It sounds like some cheap, tasteless, backwoods hillbilly wedding venue.
Churches and pastors of churches will NOT be forced to marry same sex couples. The Knapps, while they may be ordained ministers, are running a for profit business in the form of a wedding chapel. Their business in not a church, their business is, for all intents and purposes, just like any other for profit business in town and as such they must abide by the laws that govern how businesses operate.
The dictate comes on the heels of a legal battle with Donald and Evelyn Knapp, ordained ministers who own the Hitching Post wedding chapel in the city, but who oppose gay marriage, The Daily Caller reported.
*edit* From what I understand, since The Knapps were told to start providing services to all members of the public, they have applied for the 501c3. I don't know if they have gotten it yet.
The Hitching Post is classified as a for-profit business, not a church, so it's subject to anti-discrimination laws. Churches are not. This is not a sign of things to come for religious organizations. Churches are already free to perform or not perform marriages for any reason they see fit, and that's not going to change.
As everyone else has noted, this is a business. The Judge will not be fooled by their recent scrambling to redefine it.
"back in May when it was first in the news, the Hitching Post Chapel’s website said that the Knapps offered a “traditional or civil ceremony” for weddings and that they also would ***“perform wedding ceremonies of other faiths.” ***Though the website still said as much as recently as October 9, 2014, the old language has been scrubbed and the Hitching Post now only offers “a traditional Christian wedding ceremony.”
Being ordained does not make your for-profit business a church.
And yes. I am, indeed aware that churches are generally for-profit businesses as it is. Baby steps.
Why would anyone want someone who hated their guts, and want to see them tortured for all eternity, to perform their wedding? I get it, the Knapps are assholes. It's always nice to see assholes screwed over by their own assholish behavior. Still sabotaging your own wedding to do it seems moronic.
My guess is The Hitching Post is now going to be considered an actual church whenever fundies start screaming, "See, see, they're making churches marry gay couples!"
Welp: Pony up your rather sizeable share of the nearly $17 quadrillion Christianity owes the IRS, or be forced to acknowledge that your J-boy doesn't exist to justify your tax exemption status; pony up your rather sizeable share of the nearly $17 quadrillion Christianity owes the IRS, or be forced to acknowledge that your J-boy doesn't exist to justify your tax exemption status...!
...quite the toughie that is, eh Knacks? Almost "The Man Who Sued God"-esque in terms of hyper-paradoxes: only for real .
Or you could simply STFU, realise that that titbit of Leviticus you use to justify your unjustifiable way of thinking never applied to Gentiles like you in the first place, and simply admit that your bigotry & discrimination has absolutely no basis in religious doctrine, 'faith' or whatever, and is purely a religious smokescreen for your actually saying 'Men kissing men is ICKY! EW!', and either obey your Scripture, as per Romans 13:1-5, or become Atheists.
Quite the MC Escher-esque multi-dimensional paradox that represents, eh Knackered...?! >:D
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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