08-19-2004, 01:00 PM
Which is the sole official body of all americans? The government, not the church. So if the government allows gay marriage, the church does not have to.
That is correct. For the sake of clarification though, legal marriage in the U.S. is primarily regulated at the state level. Marriage laws are not the same throughout the country; there are small differences from state to state. There is an additional factor, which is that states often have their own vague and broad equal rights laws or, in a few cases, antidiscrimination laws that explicitly include sexual orientation, creating a situation where state judges have to determine how those laws apply to an issue like this when someone makes a lawsuit about it. Gay marriage is on the brink of being a reality in the most liberal states, and this is creating a countermovement in the rest of the country. Here in Ohio, for instance, it appears that we will be voting on a state constitutional amendment on this issue in the November election. A recent article about that can be found here: http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2129132 Our state legislature has recently passed legislation to block gay couples from getting any legal marriage rights within the state. These kind of laws and amendment proposals are popping up all over the country.
In the US there is a separation of church and state or not? I mean christians have the same right as muslims, mormones or atheists?. I know in practice you hear politicians use religion still a lot (also in Holland there are christian political parties) but officialy they have nothing to do with eachother.
From a constitutional standpoint, here is what we have:
"Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances."
"Amendment XIV
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws."
These two have been linked together by Supreme Court rulings. In other words, neither the U.S. Congress nor the state governments can pass laws that violate the criteria in Amendment I. So yes, there is some degree of separation between church and state.
That is correct. For the sake of clarification though, legal marriage in the U.S. is primarily regulated at the state level. Marriage laws are not the same throughout the country; there are small differences from state to state. There is an additional factor, which is that states often have their own vague and broad equal rights laws or, in a few cases, antidiscrimination laws that explicitly include sexual orientation, creating a situation where state judges have to determine how those laws apply to an issue like this when someone makes a lawsuit about it. Gay marriage is on the brink of being a reality in the most liberal states, and this is creating a countermovement in the rest of the country. Here in Ohio, for instance, it appears that we will be voting on a state constitutional amendment on this issue in the November election. A recent article about that can be found here: http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2129132 Our state legislature has recently passed legislation to block gay couples from getting any legal marriage rights within the state. These kind of laws and amendment proposals are popping up all over the country.
In the US there is a separation of church and state or not? I mean christians have the same right as muslims, mormones or atheists?. I know in practice you hear politicians use religion still a lot (also in Holland there are christian political parties) but officialy they have nothing to do with eachother.
From a constitutional standpoint, here is what we have:
"Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances."
"Amendment XIV
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws."
These two have been linked together by Supreme Court rulings. In other words, neither the U.S. Congress nor the state governments can pass laws that violate the criteria in Amendment I. So yes, there is some degree of separation between church and state.