NPR.org
The United Church of Christ is joining the national debate on the future of gay marriage in a novel way: The church filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage, saying Amendment One violates the church's constitutional guarantee to freedom of religion.
According to the church, this is likely the first challenge by a national Christian denomination of a state's gay marriage ban.
Amendment One, the church argues, makes it a crime for its clergy to officiate a marriage between two people of the same sex. That, the church argues, puts a limit on the church's exercise of religion.
In case that isn't clear: The North Carolina law not only bans same-sex marriage, but it makes it illegal for anyone to perform a same-sex ceremony, even if they know the ceremony is only symbolic. Since the United Church of Christ performs same-sex ceremonies, they are arguing that the law is an infringement on their free exercise of their religion.
So the Conservative Christians are hoisted by their own petard! Brilliant!
