When #lovewins, there’s no anger, no rap sheet
Religious liberty, gay marriage can coexist
When love wins, it doesn’t take prisoners.
It has been more than a week since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, and already those with religious objections to same-sex marriage are facing punishment.
Aaron and Melissa Klein, an Oregon Christian couple who refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple in 2013 (before gay marriage was legal in Oregon) were ordered Thursday to pay $135,000 for their refusal.
Just days after the Supreme Court decision on June 26, New
York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer suggested that all religious organizations lose their tax-exempt status “rather than try to rescue (it) for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of ... sexuality.”
Oppenheimer’s no conservative fear-monger: Obama administration solicitor general, Donald Verrilli, acknowledged in the Supreme Court hearing that religious schools could lose their tax-exempt status.
There is a better, more loving, way: tolerance, coexistence.
Though I oppose gay marriage, I found the enthusiasm on June 26 — the rainbow photos on Facebook, the cheering and the exultation that “#lovewins” — inspiring. It showed many Americans’ thirst for justice and their determination that our country’s laws reflect love and kindness. I disagree with them on what is just and loving, primarily because I think children deserve a dad and a mom, but it’s heartening to witness so much moral energy.
“Love is patient, love is kind. … It does not dishonor others ... it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs,” goes the Corinthians verse read at weddings.
Yet that is not the attitude shown toward the Kleins or churches that want to stay true to their beliefs and continue receiving the tax-exempt status that allows them to contribute more of their funds to educating poor children and feeding the hungry.
America is not done with discussing marriage, as shown by the Montana polygamous trio who applied for a wedding license last week. “It’s about marriage equality,” said Nathan Collier, who wants to wed a second wife.
Perhaps Collier’s actions will renew interest in religious liberty. Surely some who support gay marriage are not fans of legalized polygamy. Maybe they will realize that they don’t want their churches to face a choice between polygamy and financial ruin.
When love wins, it doesn’t crush people’s consciences. No one should understand this better than those in the gay marriage movement, who laudably fought for decades, against public opinion and current laws, for what they believed was morally true, benefiting from tax-exempt status along the way.
Gay marriage proponents honored their beliefs all those years. Now, they should give those on the other side of the issue the ability to do the same thing.