“At least 14 employees in the San Diego County Clerk’s Office raised religious objections to performing gay wedding ceremonies but were told by their boss they couldn’t pick and choose between marriage applicants. Clerk Greg Smith said last month that he would allow employees with religious objections to avoid performing the ceremonies, but the response was apparently more than his office could accommodate.” [Union-Tribune]
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21 Comments
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fredo777
They should get new jobs working for a church, then.
Your job when working for a public gov’t. office is to serve the public. All of it, based on the law.
If you don’t like it, quit.
Miss Understood
People in this country consistently use religious beliefs as an excuse for bad behavior. Sorry but you gotta leave your beliefs at home. A vegetarian’s strongly held beliefs are as valid as a church lady’s but if he’s a waiter at Sizzler he’s gotta serve steak.
Marc
Serving in government is FOR ALL !
RPCV
The Clerk should respect his employees’ beliefs.
Dray
Like everyone else you do the job you’re paid for.
Kevin
Grant it when most of these clerks were hired the probably never envisioned that they would have to “enable” the “Gay Agenda” by providing them with marriage licenses and performing marriages. BUT in the real world like with any job when the rules change in mid-stream you either go along with them or FIND ANOTHER JOB!
I will never deny them the right to express their religious beliefs at home or in their church, but in a PUBLIC JOB funded by ALL tax payers is another matter.
Yes, it may mean that they have a hard decision to make, but don’t we all sometimes in our lives and why are they so different?
DanGOP
If their religious beliefs are such a problem, then, perhaps they should not be working for the government?
marco channing
This makes absolutely no sense. The Bible does not say gay people cannot marry, so how is performing a gay marriage against their religion? If one interprets the Bible to say that gay sex is a sin, shouldn’t they be against themselves having gay sex?
These people wouldn’t be allowed to turn away Jews or Muslims from marriage would they? Clearly others religions are against there religious beliefs by the fact that they are not their religious beliefs.
Would a Scientologist civil servant be allowed to refuse to help a psychiatrist because it is against their religious beliefs?
Would a Muslim civil servant be allowed to refuse help to a woman not wearing a scarf on her head because it is against their religious beliefs?
Would a Jewish servant be allowed to refuse help to an uncircumcised man because it is against their religious beliefs?
This is why we have separation of church and state.
Charles J. Mueller
If their religious beliefs are such a problem, perhaps they should find another belief system that doesn’t fuck with their heads so much. 😉
Steve
Performing marriage ceremonies is part of the job. The clerks office may not discriminate between straight and gay couples. The office must serve all couples equally, and without discrimination. The office may not even discriminate between straight and gay couples by assigning them to be served by different employees. So, if part of an employees job is to perform marriage ceremonies, that employee must serve both straight and gay couple without discrimination.
There is no issue of religious liberty involved. Any employee who is not willing to do the job is not required to be employed in that job. Any employee who doesn’t want to do the work may quit or be fired.
A reasonable administrator might try to find a different job in another department that the religious person can do, and assign a different employee to do marriage ceremonies. That might avoid the cost of hiring and training a new employee. But I cannot see any way that such an accommodation would be required. It would be only a courtesy, and perhaps a cost saving for the department.
Andy
Howcome they don’t object to performing straight wedding ceremonies? Which, as secular ceremonies, are surely equally unacceptable in the eyes of God. Stupid hypocrites.
ChristopherM
Religion was used for years to justify anti-miscegenation laws, but if one of these nitwits refused to marry an interracial couple in this day and age, no one would even consider saying that we should “respect their religion.” Their job has nothing to do with their religion, and if they have religious disagreements with performing a function that is perfectly legal, then they should reconsider either their career or their religious choices.
chandler in lasvegas
Here is the trade off:
The Government will not require your bigoted hateful religion(s) to perform religious LGBT marriages and you, working for the non-denominational government, will have to leave your hateful beliefs at home and at church and perform your secular jobs like everybody else.
Geoffrey
I feel the same as all the above, they should leave their religion at home. #2 Miss Undastoods response is the best thing I’ve read all week!!!!! Love it!
Marco Channing
Religion is a choice, not a genetic trait. So why do people who choose religion not get fired for refusing to perform gay marriages because they believe being gay is a choice?
There are gay penguins, gay fruit flies, gay giraffes and hundreds of other animals and insects that display homosexual behavior and nesting practices. However, no one has discovered Christian seagulls, or Catholic spiders. Homosexuality occurs in nature. Religon does not. So why is choice given more civil liberties and freedoms (and tax exemptions) than genetics?
scott
what i don’t get is how Christians think they created the word marriage. It’s been used long before Christians started using that word in their context. And in ways I’m sure that Christians wouldn’t approve.
Why must everything follow the Christian doctrine, I just don’t get.
Besides, as peeps have said… it’s your job, suck it up or find a new one.
logan767
What’s up with all the advertisements posing as actual story posts? I’m turned off to the ad and the site for trying to rope me in like that.
fredo777
There’s nothing posing as story posts, from what I’ve seen. They’re all pretty clearly labeled as advertisements before you click on them.
Kid A
But they’re a bit misleading, since they’re not banners like regular ads, they are taking up space where stories usually are. I’m upset that I can’t comment on them and make snarky remarks.
crazylove
Guess under the Constitution separation of church and state are optional in San Diego.
fredo777
That’s exactly why they don’t let you comment on them. lol
I don’t have a problem with them. They’re presented in the way regular story posts are because they have more info. than you’d put in a banner ad. And they’re labeled “advertisement”, in addition to their headlines being pretty clearly advertising. So, if I’m not looking to read ad copy (or just that particular ad), I simply don’t click.