Action Alert: Don't Redefine Marriage!
This week the legislature is sending HB 174 (D-Henson) and SB 101 (D-Ebbin) to the Governor’s desk, whereupon he will have just seven days to take action or the bills will automatically become law. These identical bills seek to formally redefine marriage and punish anyone of faith who won’t go along with that redefinition.
The bills would do four things that are highly problematic:
For the first time, formally codify so-called “same-sex marriage” into Virginia law.
Force local clerks of court and their deputies to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples even if doing so violates their conscience, similar to what was forced onto Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who was thrown in jail and continues to face lawsuits for not signing her name to a license for a same-sex couple. She was afforded no religious accommodation whatsoever. These bills seek to crush any similar conscientious objectors in Virginia.
Pretends to protect churches and clergy from having to perform same-sex or transgender “marriage” ceremonies in violation of their faith, but actually diminishes current protections. It purports to protect them only when “acting in their religious capacity”, but it’s anyone’s guess what that means or how it might be scrutinized by those who would seek to target them.
Further injects the concept of “gender identity” into the law by intentionally separating the concepts of “sex” and “gender.” For some reason, they think it’s not enough to specify protections for “sex.” They must also single out and legitimize the problematic construct of gender identity.
