South Carolina lawmakers seek to roll back marriage equality

[spanone]

It’s been less than three months since same-sex marriage was legalized in South Carolina, but conservative lawmakers are already pushing to permit government employees to discriminate against same-sex couples on the basis of religious beliefs.

At least four bills have emerged with the start of the state’s new legislative session, all seeking to undermine a November federal court ruling that ushered in same-sex marriage in a state that has been very resistant to it. The new bills seek to allow exemptions for employees of judges and court clerks who don’t want to issue same-sex marriage licenses on the basis of their religious beliefs, prevent punishment of state employees who refuse to provide goods or services to same-sex couples and bar using taxpayer dollars — including government salaries — for activities supporting same-sex marriages. One bill even seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to say marriage is between one man and one woman.

One conservative state lawmaker said the bills are aimed at providing choice to state employees who are opposed to gay marriage.

“We don’t want people to have to choose between their faith and their public service,” state Sen. Lee Bright told Al Jazeera America. Bright, a Republican who represents Greenville and Spartanburg counties, has put forward the proposal to allow state worker exemptions for religious beliefs.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/6/south-carolina-lawmakers-seek-to-undermine-same-sex-marraige.html

[HockeyMom]

1. Should Catholic court clerks refuse to marry divorced couples too?

Bad, bad precendence with religious objections for court clerks. Goes against "my" religion.

[spanone]

13. it's absolutely absurd

[MohRokTah]

2. People were opposed to interracial marriage and justified it with religion, too.

Being a fucking bigot is being a fucking bigot no matter how much you try to justify the fucking bigotry with religion.

[MohRokTah]

5. MIRT, cleanup on aisle 5. eom

[MohRokTah]

7. .

[MohRokTah]

8. It's pretty amazing how this thread proved what I posted in post #2. eom

[spanone]

14. with precision.

[Blue_Adept]

9. They need to be shamed just like racists and anti-vaxxers

Hose 'em.

[MohRokTah]

10. Yep. eom

[hifiguy]

11. Troll disposal around DU is ruthlessly efficient.

They don't learn, do dey?

[KamaAina]

12. "Too small to be a country, too large to be an insane asylum."

A 19th-century South Carolinian's description of his state.