Over the weekend I had a discussion with a friend who insisted that there is a large group of the pro-gay marriage contingent who believe the only acceptable definition of legalized gay marriage must include recognition by “the church”. In other words, there are a lot of gays who are fighting to ensure that gay marriage includes the right to be married in the church/synagogue/mosque, etc., of their choice.Â
While the Religious Right has been claiming that if gay marriage becomes legal, any priest who refuses to marry a gay couple will be thrown in jail. I think we all know this is a scare tactic, one of many they use to get the less-informed to vote against same-sex marriage legislation. Unfortunately, it works.
I, for one, (and in the discussion I had over drinks and too much dessert at brunch!) was surprised that there were any significant number of gays who are actively fighting to include religious recognition of gay marriage in any legislation. To get a quick pulse-check, I tapped into my Twitter community with a quick TwitPoll. After just two hours, so far no one said that an acceptable definition of legalized gay marriage must include religious marriage recognition. Most suggest they, in fact, do not want any ties to the church, including this response, “Keep the church out of my state.”
Please take a moment, click here and vote!