First Amendment in peril

Sometime this month The Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether or not every state, pastor, magistrate, and person in the nation could be forced to support and/or participate in homosexual marriages. Should the Court suddenly discover a Constitutional right to homosexual marriage, Americans need to know what is in store for a right that people of all sexual orientations should cherish – the right to religious freedom. 

The ironic truth is that in states where lower courts have already redefined marriage, the rulings that were intended to guarantee “equality of rights” in marriage for homosexual couples are being used to marginalize, penalize, and discriminate against individuals, businesses, and organizations that continue to live and operate according to their religious beliefs. And free speech and religious freedom are under attack in other states when people of faith express why they believe homosexual marriage is wrong.

{mosads}If the High Court imposes same-sex marriage on the entire nation, we can expect religious citizens across the country to be the targets of lawsuits, just as many are already suffering. People are being punished for their religious beliefs—not for attempting to impose those beliefs on others—but for acting according to their personal convictions in the public sphere.

For example, when Massachusetts redefined marriage to include same-sex partners, a long-standing and well-respected adoption and foster care provider was forced to close for refusing, on religious grounds, to change its policy regarding placing children with same-sex couples. The organization, Catholic Charities of Boston, is no longer allowed to serve needy children because they would not tailor their age-old principles to fit the demands of changing laws that limit religious freedom.

And many religious non-profits are faced with losing their tax-exempt status should they refuse to act against their convictions regarding same-sex marriage. Attorney Leslie Loftis wrote in The Federalist, “The taxman cometh, and not to raid our individual pocketbooks, but to radically impose burdens on the free exercise of religion. The power to tax does involve the power to destroy…” And this happens even though the First Amendment clearly states that the government shall “make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Think about the financial impact on church ministries that provide services to the homeless; that run day care centers; that serve the inner cities. Should they lose their property tax exemptions many would no longer be able to keep their doors open.

Government officials who wish to practice their faith are also under attack in various states, and we can expect such attacks to multiply across the country if the Court orders all states to abandon traditional marriage statues. Liberty Counsel’s website describes the plight:  “…magistrates are being forced to officiate same-sex ‘weddings,’ despite deeply help religious beliefs. Our clients must choose to abandon their religion or face suspension, termination, fines, or prosecution.” Liberty Counsel went on to say, “While the federal court orders require that Defendants make marriage ceremonies available to same-sex couples, they do not require that every magistrate in the state be compelled to perform such ceremonies under threat of suspension, termination, or even criminal prosecution.”

It simply isn’t right to force someone to participate in an act that they have an objection to on the basis of religious conscience. The desire of same-sex couples to marry should never precede or dismiss the rights of religious employees and businesses to operate according to their religious beliefs.

The website, freetobelieve.com, has a compilation of stories about individuals and business owners who have suffered discrimination for their religious beliefs regarding same-sex marriage. Like the mom and pop bakery in Oregon that was fined $135,000 because their faith would not allow them to support a homosexual marriage through making a cake to celebrate the wedding. Or like the florist in Washington state, who is being prosecuted by the Attorney General and sued by homosexuals, who may lose her entire business, home and livelihood because she refuses to violate her religious beliefs by creating flower arrangements for homosexual marriages. Or like Navy Chaplain, Lt. Commander Wes Modder in South Carolina who was stripped of his duties after expressing his faith-based beliefs that homosexual marriage is not biblical.

The stories of religious persecution in America are growing every day. And they will only multiply if the Supreme Court decides to force same-sex marriage on the nation.

Thank God, there are those who are willing to stand up so that religious freedom can be preserved for every American.  

The struggle for freedom of religion and speech are not new battles in the human experience. America was founded largely by those who fled their native lands precisely because they were suffering religious persecution. 

People from all faiths throughout history have suffered severe persecution. Today, we hear of the daily horrors of Christians around the world being imprisoned and killed for their faith. We just aren’t used to experiencing persecution on American soil.

What price are we willing to pay to preserve the freedoms that so many have spilled their blood on hellish battlefields over the generations to protect? 

The florist in Washington State, Barronelle Stutzman, is not giving in, even in the face of losing everything. Why? In her own words “I just want the freedom to live and work faithfully and according to what God says about marriage without fear of punishment. Others have the freedom to say or not what they want to about marriage, and that’s all I’m asking for as well.”

Chaplain Modder, the gutsy, former Navy Seal, said, “Every fiber in my being wants to run away from this—but if I do, I’m not being obedient to the Lord.  I need to stand up for righteousness… It’s going to be hard for me, but it’s what God has called me to do.” 

Such is the resolve of the many decent, average Americans profiled so far in FreeToBelieve.com, who have suddenly found themselves persecuted and punished simply for practicing their First Amendment rights.  

And they are not alone.  Pastors, leaders, business people, and Americans of all backgrounds are stating their resolve to preserve religious freedom; to endure the loss of income; to face prosecution; to risk imprisonment should an all-out assault of religious freedom and free speech be unleashed in a Supreme Court decision that forces the participation in or support of homosexual marriages on the nation.

The new website, DefendMarriage.org, contains a pledge already signed by 41,000 American leaders who are willing to take a bold stand for religious freedom. Included in their numbers are respected well-known leaders like Alveda King (activist and niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.); The Reverend Franklin Graham (Billy Graham Ministries); and Lieutenant General (retired) William Boykin (former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence). There are also pastors, priests, and local leaders from small town churches – the easiest targets for religious persecution – who have pledged that they will not abandon what Scripture has always plainly taught: God designed marriage as a bond between one man and one woman. These brave individuals understand that man can not change what God has ordained – not even Supreme Court Justices. And these same brave Americans refuse to participate in the rouse.

Make no mistake: America will be splintered if the High Court attempts to redefine the religious sacrament of marriage and force participation in and support of homosexual marriages against religious conscience. Social upheaval will ensue across our great land, and basic freedoms we have taken for granted may be lost forever.

At a time when America is under attack from terrorists abroad, at a time when we need to bind together and fight those foreign enemies who would destroy our liberty, God forbid that our own Supreme Court unleash a torrent of legal attacks on people of faith and the First Amendment.

Hagelin is an author and commentator on faith and family values.