United Church of Christ Sues North Carolina to Allow Gay Marriage

[Antonio the Sixth]

How in the flying hell is this law even constitutional? You don't even need to support SSM to realize this is utterly f**ked up.

[Antonio the Sixth]

How in the flying hell is this law even constitutional? You don't even need to support SSM to realize this is utterly f**ked up.

The law penalizing performing unlicensed marriages was passed back in the days before SSM was even a topic and back when the concept of there being a distinction between civil and religious marriage was not widely held. It was all marriage.

The point is that this doesn't really matter. This law flies in the face of religious freedom regardless.

[Antonio the Sixth]

How in the flying hell is this law even constitutional? You don't even need to support SSM to realize this is utterly f**ked up.

The law penalizing performing unlicensed marriages was passed back in the days before SSM was even a topic and back when the concept of there being a distinction between civil and religious marriage was not widely held. It was all marriage.

The point is that this doesn't really matter. This law flies in the face of religious freedom regardless.

Not necessarily.  If the violation would only occur if the preacher were to say as part of the ceremony "By the authority vested in me by the State of North Carolina, I now pronounce you wife and wife." despite there being no marriage license then that wouldn't be a violation of religious freedom.

That's quite a big "if". Do you have any reason to believe that it is so?