[Magdalen] Supreme Court

[Roger Stokes]

On 30/06/2015 02:01, Lynn Ronkainen wrote:
> From: "Jo Craddock" <jocraddock at gmail.com>
>> Maybe in California, but not in Louisiana, a community property state 
>> where common law marriages are not recognized.
>>
>> And where, unless something's changed while I was at the office, the 
>> AG has said he, "...didn't see where Friday's SCOTUS ruling applied 
>> to Louisiana," which makes me wonder who is drawing up the secession 
>> documents.
>
> The TX AG hurriedly scribbled a legal document on Friday allowing any 
> county clerk, whose religious beliefs collided with issuing 
> certificates of marriage to a gay couple, could refuse to do so. I 
> heard on NPR local news this morning that if a county where there is 
> only one clerk refuses it would be a legal situation in which the 
> clerk's office would probably not prevail. However there is talk about 
> paying local lawyers to issue the licenses in such a case. Because TX 
> is TX, I'm sure this will happen sooner than later.

There was a case in this country where a registrar protested that being 
required to solemnise civil partnerships (this was before we had 
same-sex marriage) was against her Christian faith.  She lost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladele_v_London_Borough_of_Islington

I think part of the trouble is that some people fail to distinguish 
between themselves as individual apeople and their role as holding a 
particular office.  If they hold an office where part of the 
responsibilities includes to do X, and X is legal, then they should do X 
if required to do so.  Their personal feelings should not come into it 
as they are simply being required to carry out a lawful order.

The case for clergy offgiciating at a same-sex marriage or blessing of a 
committed relationship is different.  The minister is there, inter alia, 
to pronounce God's blessing on the union.  If they honestly believe the 
relationship to be immoral then to utter the words of blessing or 
declaring it to be a covenant relationship would be hypocritical.  I 
know we have had, and will continue to have, hypocrites among the clergy 
but we shouldn't require them to be hypocritical as that would undermine 
their ability to proclaim the Gospel.

Roger