Ken Hutcherson needs more attention. And he will come after the civil rights of others if he thinks it'll get him some press time.
If I’ve realized nothing else about the conversation we’re having about Marriage Equality, it’s that no one (and I’ll say it again for emphasis) NO ONE is against it. Except for people who oppose it for specious religious reasons. But we’re talking about a matter of civil rights and the law where RELIGION IS IRRELEVANT.
Marriage Equality is About Civil Marriage, Not Religious Marriage. This is not about forcing any church to perform or extend religious recognition to any marriages it doesn’t want to. This is about the right to the civil marriage license issued by the state, which religious groups should not interfere with (just as the state should not interfere with religious ceremonies).
Seattle Channel has a (softballed, but serviceable) conversation about Marriage Equality viewable after the jump:
Homosexuality is a disorder of the human condition.
– Pastor Joe Fuiten
As you watch this video, substitute the word “RELIGION” for “HOMOSEXUALITY” and consider how much of an uproar there would be if a Presbyterian were to be prevented from practicing his chosen faith. The point being that, yet again, religion wants to claim supreme ownership over a concept that is no longer under the exclusive purview of the church – much like education, law of the land and property ownership are ALSO no longer matters for the church to own. While for many Americans marriage has a spiritual or religious element, there is also the essential legal component – without which, the religious part would be purely for show and have no grounds in reality.
So, Ken Hutcherson and his ilk can stop claiming religious persecution for an attack on their version of marriage.
Because no one is attacking the religious parts of marriage. Because the government isn’t interested in the religious parts.
That’s how the First Amendment works.
But if Ken Hutcherson wants to play this game in the Arena of Public Opinion, we can certainly play it that way.
