State Officials Push Back against Gay Marriage RulingVideo>
CBN News
County clerks in Texas who object to gay marriage
can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to
Texas' Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Despite last week's landmark U.S. Supreme Court
ruling requiring states to allow same-sex marriage, Paxton says it "did
not diminish, overrule, or call into question the First Amendment rights
to free exercise of religion."
Paxton said the Supreme Court "fabricated a new constitutional right."
"This newly invented federal constitutional right to
same-sex marriage should peaceably coexist alongside longstanding
constitutional and statutory rights, including the rights to free
exercise of religion and speech," he said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has sparked
controversy ranging from religious freedom to how parents should talk to
children. CBN's Heather Sells spoke with Dr. Russell Moore, with the
Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,
on these topics and more fallout on the historic ruling. - Watch Video
Paxton noted that officials who refuse to issue
marriage licenses to gay couples could face litigation and/or fines. But
he added that "numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending
their religious beliefs, in many cases on a pro-bono basis."
"And I will do everything I can from this office to be a public voice for those standing in defense of their rights," he said.
In Kentucky, some clerks are refusing to issue
marriage licenses to any couples as an objection to the U.S. Supreme
Court's ruling on same-sex marriage.
Is the debate over gay marriage in
America over? What will happen to religious individuals and institutions
who continue to stand for traditional marriage? Peter Sprigg, with the
Family Research Council, explains. - Watch Video
Casey County Clerk Casey Davis said his religious
convictions will not allow him to issue marriage licenses to same-sex
couples. He said his office is no longer issuing licenses to any couple.
"In good conscience I cannot put my name on one of those licenses," he said.
Davis said no same-sex couple has been in to the office to ask for one. The Lexington Herald-Leader
reported that clerks in Rowan and Lawrence counties have also halted
issuing marriage licenses in response to the Supreme Court ruling.
Terry Sebastian, a spokesman for Gov. Steve Beshear, said the governor's office is reviewing how to respond.
Meanwhile, pastors around the country are trying to figure out what to do if homosexuals asked to be married in their churches.
One large church in San Jose, California – the Jubilee Christian Center – temporarily suspended all weddings.
"I am not a religious bigot. I've been called
worse," Jubilee Pastor Dick Bernal said. "I'm a Bible believing person,
and I would hope people would respect Dick Bernal believes the Bible,
and I'm not going to violate his beliefs."
Pastor Bernal says some members of his church are gay, but he will not perform gay marriages.
Other churches and denominations have already taken
steps to embrace homosexuality. The Episcopal Church is voting Wednesday
on whether to allow religious weddings for same-sex couples.
Topic: State Officials Push Back against Gay Marriage Ruling
