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Eugene

(61,592 posts)
Thu Mar 5, 2015, 02:21 PM Mar 2015

Alabama Republicans push bill to allow denial of marriages on basis of beliefs

Source: The Guardian

Alabama Republicans push bill to allow denial of marriages on basis of beliefs

Jessica Glenza
Thursday 5 March 2015 17.31 GMT

A Republican-led bill in Alabama’s state legislature could radically alter the institution of marriage for Alabamians.

The bill was written in reaction to a federal judge striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban, and sponsors say it could clear up confusion and protect religious rights. But activists say the bill’s implications would reach far beyond the LGBT community, and claim it is little more than an attempt to remove rights under the guise of religious freedom.

The bill allows ministers and judges to opt out of performing or – critically – recognizing any marriage that defies their convictions. The bill, the Freedom of Religion in Marriage Protection Act, also allows religiously affiliated social organizations to deny service on the basis of religion, activists said.

Legal experts say religiously affiliated hospitals could refuse visits from a sick patient’s spouse, on the basis that their marriage defies their religious convictions.

Judges could refuse to grant a divorce if divorce was against their religious beliefs; a Catholic judge could refuse to marry a Hindu, Muslim or Jewish couple, Susan Watson, said executive director with Alabama’s American Civil Liberties Union.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/05/alabama-republicans-bill-deny-marriages-services-religious-beliefs
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Alabama Republicans push bill to allow denial of marriages on basis of beliefs (Original Post) Eugene Mar 2015 OP
Why don't they just secede and get it over with CanonRay Mar 2015 #1
If your beliefs get in the way of doing your job, you need to choose one or the other. eppur_se_muova Mar 2015 #2
Why would somebody who doesn't believe in marriage... stone space Mar 2015 #3

CanonRay

(14,036 posts)
1. Why don't they just secede and get it over with
Thu Mar 5, 2015, 02:23 PM
Mar 2015

They are basically taking white-out to the constitution.

eppur_se_muova

(36,227 posts)
2. If your beliefs get in the way of doing your job, you need to choose one or the other.
Thu Mar 5, 2015, 05:28 PM
Mar 2015

I'd prefer these bozos part with their jobs.

 

stone space

(6,498 posts)
3. Why would somebody who doesn't believe in marriage...
Wed Mar 11, 2015, 01:10 PM
Mar 2015

...take a job that involves marryin' folks in the first place?


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