Virginia gov. vetoes bill protecting clergy from performing same-sex ‘marriages’
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed a religious freedom
bill Wednesday during a radio appearance, claiming it was “discriminatory” and
“demonizes folks.”
Senate Bill 41 aimed to protect pastors from
performing same-sex "marriages,” and religious groups and business owners
from being forced to provide wedding-related services for them.
“It’s unconstitutional. It is discriminatory. It
demonizes folks. It brings fear and persecution. We can’t tolerate that,” he
said on Washington’s WTOP station.
According to McAuliffe, the pastor protection
component was unnecessary because of the U.S. Constitution. “Any legitimate
protections afforded by Senate Bill 41 are duplicative of the First
Amendment," he said in a statement.
“Any additional protections are styled in a manner
that prefers one religious viewpoint — that marriage can only validly exist
between a man and a woman — over all other viewpoints,” he said. “Such a
dynamic is not only unconstitutional, it equates to discrimination under the
guise of religious freedom.”
According to The Washington Times, the bill's
sponsor -- State Sen. Charles Carrico -- said the bill was intended to be a
barrier of protection after the U.S. Supreme Court's marriage ruling last year.
Carrico said the veto goes against the beliefs of
"millions of Virginians" who hold traditional views on marriage.
While many LGBT advocates say the Supreme Court's
decision to change the legal definition of marriage will not risk pastoral
liberty, social conservatives say the risk is unquestionably present. During
Court arguments last year, the U.S. Solicitor General said there was a risk
that groups opposed to a redefinition of marriage could lose their tax-exempt
status.
The Virginia Family Foundation’s Victoria Cobb said
McAuliffe veto was itself the discriminatory. "Disagreement over the
nature and purpose of marriage is not going to disappear simply because the
Supreme Court created a mythological right to redefine marriage," she said
in a statement.
"It is unfortunate that Governor McAuliffe is
so willing to discriminate against people of faith who simply disagree with the
secular left's sexual dogma,” she added.
