unHoly Matrimony

            Every day thousands of people get married all over the world.  All of whom come from different countries, beliefs and religious backgrounds, but all ceremonies have one thing in common.  They are performed by marriage officiants, and ordained pastors or priests.  This seems like it would be a happy job, right?  Except for two pastors in Idaho who are left with only two options, they either marry a gay couple which is against their beliefs, or they face jail time and a fine for violating a “non-discrimination law”.  The two Christian pastors have now filed a federal lawsuit to fight this law.       

            “The city says its non-discrimination ordinance requires them to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies because the courts have overridden Idaho's voter-approved constitutional amendment that affirmed marriage as the union of a man and a woman.”[1]  First of all, the state went against the majority of the people allowing gay marriage, now they are forcing citizens of the state to marry them.  What happened to freedom?  Secondly, why are pastors forced to marry somebody when it is against their religious beliefs, when non Christian children in school can opt out of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance because it mentions “God”?  Christian pastors should be treated the same as Christian doctors who are able to not offer abortion services do to their religious beliefs.  Lastly, why would a gay couple even want to be married by a Christian pastor who does not accept their life style?        

            There are millions of marriage officiants in the United States that would gladly marry any gay couple, so why don’t they just get married somewhere else?  Our country is different than many others, we have freedom.  We get to make our own decisions, live our own lives, believe in any religion, and choose what we are going to do.  So why is it any different for a Christian pastor who can legally marry couples?  Why can’t they choose who they can marry?  Just as a business can refuse service to certain customers, pastors should be able to choose not to marry gay couples.  The state is taking away these pastors freedom of religion, by having consequences, which are unreasonable.  What would you do if you had to pick between God and a 180 day jail sentence with a thousand dollar fine?  And every time you choose not to do what the government was telling you to do you received 180 more days in jail and had to pay a thousand more dollars.

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[1] http://www.christianpost.com/news/idaho-pastors-face-jail-time-thousands-in-fines-for-not-performing-gay-weddings-128325/