I've heard (and made) the related argument that, although the government is very unlikely actually to force ministers to perform same-sex marriages, the government may well force ministers to choose between performing same-sex marriages and being stripped of the government function of licensing civil marriages.
Evidence of this possibility is the fact that Massachusetts is already forcing this very choice on its Justices of the Peace. Forcing that choice will unquestionably tend to separate the civil and religious marriage functions, but I think there's a genuine question whether that separation creates constitutional problems (Free Ex / substantial burden) or avoids them (Est Cls / Larkin). -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jean Dudley Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 5:22 AM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Rights of clergy regarding same-sex marriage? I'm of the mind that the recent decision from Judge Robert Kramer in California regarding gay marriage in that state is another step in the march towards the eventual breaking down of the societal prohibition on same-sex marriage. One of the arguments I've heard against it is that the "guvmint" will force religious leaders to perform same-sex marriages against their conscience. How real is this argument? Are clergy "forced" to marry mixed-race couples against their will? -- Edie "A man without doubts is a monster" --Garrison Keillor _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
