You can bet your bottom dollar that gay and lesbian rights groups in the USA
are watching this development in Great Britain very closely.

Furthermore, what this article again demonstrates is that gays and lesbians
are not just a passive group who want to be left alone to live their lives
as they please. They are a militant, activist group who won't be satisified
until they have forced governments and peoples around the world to accept
their ungodly, sinful lifestyle as normal, natural, and merely an
alternative lifestyle.

If this development does make headway in liberal Great Britian -- as I
suspect it will -- sooner or later, we should expect American gays and
lesbians to take up the same torch.


Clergy could be sued if they refuse to carry out 'gay marriages',
traditionalists fear

By Martin Beckford and Heidi Blake - Telegraph.co.uk

March 3, 2010


Traditionalist bishops and peers fear that vicars could be taken to court
and accused of discrimination if they turn down requests to hold civil
partnerships on religious premises.

Their concerns have been raised following a landmark vote by peers that will
allow the ceremonies for same-sex couples to be held in places of worship
for the first time.

It is also feared that the changes would blur the line further between
marriage - which churches say must be between a man and a woman - and civil
partnerships.

It comes after a Government drive to outlaw bias against minority groups
such as homosexuals in the Equality Bill.

Until now civil partnerships, which entitle same-sex couples to the same
legal rights of married spouses, have been restricted to register offices
and secular venues such as hotels and stately homes.

But under an amendment to the Equality Bill tabled in the House of Lords by
Lord Alli, a homosexual Labour peer, the ban on the events taking place on
religious premises will be lifted.

The amendment states that national faith groups will not be forced to carry
out civil partnerships.

But it is feared that same-sex couples would be able to use the protection
from discrimination guaranteed - under the Equality Bill or the Human Rights
Act - to take legal action against individual clergy in their parish if they
refuse to "marry" them in a local church.

The Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester, said: "I believe
that it will open, not the Church of England, but individual clergy, to
charges of discrimination if they solemnise marriages as they all do, but
refuse to host civil partnership signings in their churches. Unless the
Government does something explicit about this, I believe that is the next
step."

The Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Rev David James, warned during the debate of
the "unintended consequences" of the move.

He said that although it was being presented to "simply be an available
option" to some religious groups, he was "not so confident"
that it would
remain that way.

Lord Waddington, a former Home Secretary, said: "If this amendment were
carried, it would only be a matter of time before it was argued that it was
discriminatory for a church incumbent to refuse to allow a civil partnership
ceremony to take place when the law allowed it."

In an argument backed by Lord Tebbit, he said that a clergyman "prepared to
register marriages but not to register civil partnerships would be accused
of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of
services and pressure would be brought to bear on him to pocket his
principles and do what he believed to be wrong".

Lord Waddington said "without doubt there would be the risk of costly
litigation" under the Equality Bill or the Human Rights Act.

Last night Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs for the Evangelical
Alliance, which represents thousands of churches across Britain, said: "We
understand the Lords' desire to allow a few liberal religious groups to have
freedom to follow their consciences. But neither must other religious groups
be forced to betray their consciences by facing lawsuits if they fail to
allow a civil ceremony."

Under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, homosexual couples are allowed to hold
civil partnership ceremonies in register offices and approved venues such as
stately homes and hotels, but they were banned from doing so in churches
while the events were not allowed to be religious in character.

In the amendment to Harriet Harman's controversial Equality Bill tabled by
Lord Alli late on Monday night, the ban on religious premises was lifted. It
was passed on a free vote by 95 to 21, with only two of the bishops - the
Lords Spiritual - taking part.

The amendment stated: "For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Act
places an obligation on religious organisations to host civil partnerships
if they do not wish to do so."

But the fear is that the protection from discrimination in the 'provision of
goods or services' guaranteed in the Equality Bill will mean that
homosexuals could take legal action against clergy who refused to hold the
ceremonies in their church.

Andrea Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "We have
seen countless cases where, as a result of similar sorts of legislation,
religious adoption agencies have been forced to close and Christians have
been forced out of their jobs for acting according to their beliefs.

"This amendment was brought in by a few peers literally at the 11th hour -
at 10.59pm - with no proper debate, and yet it fundamentally changes the
very nature of civil partnerships.

"There is no doubt that the homosexual lobby will now test it: they will
apply for ceremonies in churches and when the minister refuses they will
challenge him under the law.

"This is a further blurring of the definition of civil partnerships, which
are becoming equivalent to marriage and churches are being forced to treat
them as such."

Mike Judge of the Christian Institute echoed fears that the amendment could
leave clergy facing costly law suits.

"We are very concerned about this and it's a very alarming proposal," he
said. "Even if this amendment says on the face of it that it only applies to
those who choose to perform civil partnerships, that will not end up being
the case and clergy will end up facing very costly legal bills in order to
defend themselves against law suits.

"The Government has failed to understand the nature of religious liberty and
has treated faith as nothing more than a matter of personal devotion. Now
Christians feel let down and ignored. This is another step in the process of
trying to force religions groups to abandon their core beliefs."

The amendment has yet to be approved in the Commons and Baroness Royall, the
leader of the Lords, warned it would "not work in practice", by
blurring the
line between marriage and civil partnerships.

A spokesman for the Government Equalities Office said: "Baroness Royall made
the Government's position clear during the debate; we're now considering our
position and deciding what steps to take next."

The move has been welcomed by equality campaigners, however.

Liberal Jews said they hoped to hold the first-ever civil partnership in a
synagogue, while Quakers and Unitarians also want to hold the ceremonies on
their premises.

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, Joint Chair of the Rabbinic Conference of Liberal
Judaism, said: "We are delighted that our synagogues are now able to host
civil partnerships at the same time as same-sex commitment blessings. It is
another step towards full equality for gay men and lesbians. My community is
looking forward to being able to celebrate its first ever Jewish spiritual
blessing together with the English legal ceremony, and to enjoying the whole
simcha onsite."

Peter Tatchell, the veteran campaigner for gay rights, said:
""Our next goal
is to secure marriage equality, to end the prohibition on lesbian and gay
couples having a civil marriage in a registry office."

The National Secular Society claimed that bishops opposed the move because
of their fears that it will worsen the divide within the Church of England
over homosexuality. Blessings of civil partnerships are not allowed in
Anglican churches but liberal clergy want this to change.

The NSS's executive director, Keith Porteous Wood, said: "Could [the
bishops'] concern be a selfish one, that when this becomes law many of its
own vicars and congregations will carry out these ceremonies regardless of
episcopal strictures, leading to schism on yet another front?"

Neil Addison, a barrister specialising in religious discrimination cases,
said: "As the Law now stands Churches and Synangogues that are registered to
conduct Marriages could easily find themselves being sued for discrimination
if they do not register to conduct Civil Partnerships.

"Local Authorities could also refuse to grant or renew marriage
authorisation to Churches and Synangogues that do not also apply for Civil
Partnership authorisation. The Government should add a new amendment to the
Equality Act to make it crystal clear that there is no legal requirement for
religious organisations or officials who perform mariages to perform civil
partnerships also."



Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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