Gay Marriage Debate Includes Questions of Religious Liberty

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March 15, 2004
Gay Marriage Debate Includes Questions of Religious Liberty

by Jane Lampman
The Christian Science Monitor

BOSTON – As the question of gay marriage flares across the US, pressure has mounted on state legislatures to pass constitutional amendments that define marriage as only between a man and a woman. In Massachusetts, the only state where the court has already mandated same-sex marriage, the deliberations have a particular urgency: Lawmakers last week cobbled together a compromise amendment designed to provide an alternative to the court ruling by banning gay marriage but establishing same-sex civil unions with the same legal rights.

To many, it's a compromise - albeit a shaky one that pleases neither side and may ultimately not pass - designed to shelter an institution that has strong religious significance.

But in practice, some legal scholars warn that the compromise could itself pose a threat to religious liberty, by putting state pressure on churches to accept the concept of civil unions to some degree.

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), March 17, 2004

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), March 17, 2004.

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