This is an interesting news item was brought to my attention by a fellow facebooker. In general, what the suit is asking thefederal courts to do is strike down the 2012 marriage ban, which makes performing a "gay marriage" ceremony a Class 1 misdemeanor for a minister if the couple hasn’t obtained a civil marriage license. It argues that the ban limits clergy choices and violates the principle of “free exercise of religion” by requiring clergy to minister to only one segment of the public.
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A group of Charlotte-area ministers helped launch the country’s first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans, claiming in a lawsuit filed Monday that North Carolina’s laws block them from practicing their religion.
The local religious leaders, who include a rabbi, are joined by colleagues from Asheville and Raleigh along with a national denomination, the United Church of Christ. All support the rights of same-sex couples to marry.
They say state prohibitions, including a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2012, violate their First Amendment right of freedom of religion. And they are asking the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina to overturn the ban as quickly as possible.
“North Carolina judges some of its citizens as unfit for the blessings of God. We reject that notion,” said the Rev. Nancy Allison, pastor of Holy Covenant United Church of Christ and one of the plaintiffs in the case.
The sacraments of baptism and communion are open to all, she said. “So should all God’s children be able to receive marriage."
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The clergy and couples filing Monday’s lawsuit say it is not their goal “to compel other faiths to conform to their religious beliefs.” Instead, they say they want “to assert their right to freely perform religious services and ceremonies consistent with their beliefs and practices, and to extend the equal protection of the laws to all of God’s children.”
United Church of Christ sues over NC ban on same-sex marriage | CharlotteObserver.com
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