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

[Jenny A]

The religious ceremony isn't the point, and never was. You'll notice I emphasized that a few posts back. If this business has a venue that sells marriage licenses (a document that directly enters into the US government), they have to follow the non-discrimination laws that any other purveyor of these documents does.

Sorry, but you really misunderstand how marriage licenses work. States issue marriage licenses, which do not cause you to be married. To be legally married you need some one legally authorized to preform the marriage ceremony to do so. Traditionally clergy, judges, and county clerks are all authorized to perform the ceremony. After the service, the couple, witnesses and official performing the wedding sign a marriage certificate which is filed with the state.

The Knapps don't sell marriage licenses, they preform marriage services for couples who have obtained a marriage license. They advertise a variety of denominational services and a "civil service" which I assume uses the official script used by the County Clerk's office.

But it is the State of Idaho, which sell licenses through their County Clerk's Offices. http://www.idaho.gov/family_records/marriage.html They are not sold by private companies.

I don't know what you mean by "a document that directly enters into the US government." With the exception of the District of Columbia, and possibly for military personal overseas (but I don't know about that for sure), the federal government does not issue marriage licenses. Nor are marriage licenses recorded with the U.S. government.

The U.S. government does treat people differently with regard to taxes and Social Security depending on whether they married or single. But whether and how people are married is a state matter. The USSC shot down the Defense of Marriage Act for that very reason.

If their advertised product/service was just "traditional weddings that follow X, Y, Z", then that would be the product/service they sell, and people who wanted one of those would purchase it (and I don't even know if I'm comfortable with that, but it would be legal). But dealing in government documents is not something that allows for discrimination, especially based on religion.

That's what they do. They don't "deal in government documents."