Let me begin by restating that I am in favor of same-sex marriage. While the logic behind Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy’s legal opinion which decreed same-sex marriage to be the law of the land last week is dubious, I believe nonetheless that same-sex couples who live in the United States and wish to marry ought to be able to do so.
By the same token, I do not believe churches, synagogues, mosques or other religious assemblies should be obligated to perform same-sex weddings if such unions go against their teachings. That decision must be left to the churches and their congregations to decide. If the federal government sees fit to either compel churches to perform same-sex marriages or punish them for refusing to do so then it is interfering in the internal affairs of religious congregations. Churches would cease to be autonomous organizations and become functionaries of the whims of the government. This would be a violation of the separation of church and state.
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