Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

World

Married Sunday, fired Monday: next US gay rights fight

– ‘That can’t last’ –

The governors of Louisiana and Texas were among a number of officials who told clerks and judges that an army of lawyers stood at the ready to fight for them – for free – if they felt that handing out marriage licenses or presiding over same-sex weddings infringed on their religious beliefs.

A smattering of counties across the Bible Belt initially refused to provide same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling, but by week’s end most had relented.

“The backlash just consists of flagrant disobedience to the law. That can’t last,” said Andrew Koppelman, a law professor at Northwestern University.

“There were some states that tried to defy school desegregation and that didn’t last.”

The religious freedom laws currently on the books in 21 states do not grant the right to discriminate, said Douglas Laycock, a law professor at the University of Virginia.

It is still up to a judge to weigh whether there is a “compelling interest” that would justify not accommodating religious practices, he explained, and so far only religious non-profits have been granted exemptions from discrimination laws.

Of course, that doesn’t help people living in states like Michigan, where a paediatrician recently – and legally – refused to treat a lesbian couple’s baby.

“The way forward is to enact gay rights laws with religious exemptions, but that might be politically impossible,” Laycock said in a telephone interview.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“The Republicans, especially in red states, don’t want the gay rights law and the gay rights side doesn’t want the religious exemptions.”

About The Author

Pages: 1 2 3

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News