LGBTI Australians: Churches, Pastors, Bakers Can't Say No to Gay Marriage

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
LGBTI Australians: Churches, Pastors, Bakers Can't Say No to Gay Marriage


Fifty-nine percent disagreed with an exemption for religious celebrants, while 27.8 percent agreed, and 12.8 percent were undecided. Let that sink in — nearly 60 percent of LGBTI people in Australia say it should be illegal for a pastor or religious minister to refuse to marry a same-sex couple. This position also flies in the face of current law, where Australian pastors have the right to refuse to marry anyone.

But it gets worse. A whopping 94.3 percent of respondents opposed any exemption allowing a religious organization to deny use of its property for a same-sex wedding. This would include a banquet hall next to a church (which thus provided a "non-religious service") that the church rented out for other occasions. According to these people, a church should not be able to refuse to rent its property for a same-sex wedding, even if the church believes that marriage is between a man and a woman.

When the LGBTI respondents were asked whether they would let a church refuse to rent its property, in order to make same-sex marriage legal in Australia, 90.6 percent still opposed any such exemption. The government's proposed same-sex marriage bill does include a provision allowing "religious bodies and organizations" to refuse to provide facilities or goods and services to same-sex couples for their weddings, or for a purpose connected to their weddings.

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"This suggests LGBTI people are more interested in true equality than access to marriage for marriage's sake," read the study's executive summary. That's one way to put it. Here's another: "You will be made to care, and to participate."
 
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