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RandySF

(57,588 posts)
Sun Sep 22, 2013, 06:04 PM Sep 2013

Hawaii Mormons concede gay marriage debate by pushing for religious exemptions.

Whether Mormons favor or oppose the potential change, the letter said, they should push for “a strong exemption for people and organizations of faith” that would protect religious groups “from being required to support or perform same-sex marriages or from having to host same-sex marriages or celebrations in their facilities; and protect individuals and small businesses from being required to assist in promoting or celebrating same-sex marriages.”

Owen Matsunaga, one of the stake presidents over a number of Mormon congregations and the church’s spokesman in Hawaii, said LDS leaders in Salt Lake City “are certainly aware of the issues in Hawaii” but expect local leaders and members to make decisions specific to local circumstances.”

“Our position in Hawaii,” Matsunaga wrote in an email, “is entirely consistent with the church’s doctrine and in harmony with this pattern.”....

The letter’s language seems to “signal a kind of resignation that there’s a shift in society that we can’t stop,” Monson said, “but we can ask for exceptions.”



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/20/hawaii-mormons-gay-marriage_n_3956599.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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kestrel91316

(51,666 posts)
2. I love how they are trying to make it sound like churches will be forced to violate their doctrines
Sun Sep 22, 2013, 07:07 PM
Sep 2013

by marrying gays against their wishes.

Morans.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
4. I think they're thinking of that photographer in Oregon who got sued
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 12:09 AM
Sep 2013

for refusing to photograph a same-sex wedding.

dsc

(52,129 posts)
12. that has zero to do with marriage
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 05:40 AM
Sep 2013

It has everything to do with anti discrimination. The law in Oregon clearly states, that if you offer a public accommodation, then you must offer it to the public including gays and lesbians.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
13. I agree, that's specific to Oregon's laws
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 05:40 AM
Sep 2013

But I also know conservative reactions to reality aren't always sensible.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
3. No church is forced to perform marriages they don't want to.
Sun Sep 22, 2013, 11:48 PM
Sep 2013

Besides, while I'm a boring heterosexual, I think if I were gay and wanted to get married, I would not want to get married in a denomination that didn't respect me.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
5. No, but photographers and bakers in other states have faced legal action
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 12:10 AM
Sep 2013

Or, rather, a photographer has been sued and a bakery was being investigated but went out of business first. Both in Oregon IIRC.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
6. I'm aware of those cases, and quite frankly I would not
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 12:17 AM
Sep 2013

want a baker who didn't approve of my life to bake me a wedding cake, nor a photographer the same.

And honestly, I think bakers and photographers should be free to refuse to take a job they don't want. That's just me. I like to think if I were gay and getting married, I want the most gay-friendly services possible.

politicat

(9,808 posts)
8. The service providers are already free to decline any job they wish.
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 01:34 AM
Sep 2013

It wasn't that they declined, it was the discriminatory way they did so. They could have been polite -- "sorry, already booked that weekend," -- and the worst they would have suffered was losing a job. "I won't work for $NDiscriminatedGroup," that's the problem.

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
10. Interesting that they were both in Oregon
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 02:59 AM
Sep 2013

I heard about the bakery, but not the photographer. 2014 is shaping up to be a major fight to get the ballot measure passed in Oregon. In order to get to passed it will need huge majorities in 8 or 9 counties including the Portland and Willamette valley areas to offset the rest of the state. It is a given pretty much all of Southern and Eastern Oregon will be strong no votes.

I wonder if there are cases like that in other states.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
11. OR has a very strong anti discrimination law
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 03:10 AM
Sep 2013

I personally think the photographer case was heavy handed, but she was in clear violation of plain law.

 

BlueJazz

(25,348 posts)
7. So Joe Smith's sheep are offended by Gay Marriage. Perhaps they should follow Joe's..
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 12:23 AM
Sep 2013

...life and have a series of intense "Visions"
Yeah....Visions my ass....

The Mormon Religion reminds me of an ad.
"Yes ...this is genuine ...I repeat, GENUINE fake leather.... accept no substitutes.

Warren DeMontague

(80,708 posts)
9. Except this is the sort of deliberate misinformation and conflation that anti-marriage equality
Mon Sep 23, 2013, 02:26 AM
Sep 2013

groups always engage in.

There are two potential aspects to marriage; often performed concurrently but different: The legal, and (for people who go that route) the religious.

Many religious denominations have been performing gay weddings for a while- whether or not the marriages are legal as per the state. Similarly, no denomination is forced to "marry" anyone they don't want.

It's completely separate from the civic, legal institution of marriage.

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