Ministers Threatened with Jail/Fines For Refusing to Officiate at Gay Weddings

[FatAndFaithless]

Heywood, they are running a business. Businesses are required to follow the non discrimination laws. Churches are not businesses, and not required.

Being in business is an act of making one's living. Where in the constitution does it say that by engaging in business you lose your constitutional protection against being forced into engaging/participating in religious ceremonies against your will?

Non-discrimination laws have been around for quite a while now Woody. If it's a business, they must follow those laws to participate in the public sphere. Just like a business can't refuse to serve black patrons, a business cannot refuse to serve gay patrons. Now, if it were a church and not a busniess then they can refuse to do whatever they like legally. The fact that the owners of this business happen to be pastors is beside the point. They could refuse all the gay couples and black couples and pre-marital-sex-having couples or any other sort of "affront" to their religion, if it was a church. But it's not. It's a business.

By the way, I didn't think using religious ritual as a business was quite...kosher.