Atheists need not apply: A bill proposed by Oklahoma Republicans would restrict the right to marry to people of faith, and would mandate all marriage licenses be approved by a member of the clergy.
House Bill 1125, filed on Tuesday by Republican State Representative Todd Russ, is a radical measure that would end secular marriage licenses in the state. In addition, the bill would bar all judges and other secular officials from performing marriages in Oklahoma.
Russ claims the radical legislation is motivated by his desire to protect court clerks from having to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Russ says he doesn’t want these workers put in the position of having to condone or facilitate same-sex marriage.
And the Christian fundamentalists just move one step closer to being the American version of the Taliban.
So he is assuming that all gay people are atheistic and there are no clergy who would marry same sex couples ?? What a moron!
ReplyDeleteMy thought exactly! What an ignoramus.
DeleteYes, indeed. While screaming about Sharia Law from the tops of their lungs, they are quietly working to make America even more restrictive. Please proceed, GOP...your evil intentions are not going unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteI am an atheist did it not occur to these nut jobs that there may be same sex Christian couples let alone clergy that are ok with that
ReplyDeleteSo the bible thumpers who want to protect the sancity of marriage would rather have atheist heterosexual couples to live in sin? Makes real sense to me. NOT.
ReplyDelete"People of Faith" wink wink
ReplyDeleteOf course, what Russ really means is that only PENTECOSTALS should be able to marry...
Atheists? Nope.
Jews? Of course not.
Muslims? Don't be absurd!
Hindi? Sikh? Buddhist? HELL no.
Catholics? bitch, please - absolutely not.
Lutherans? Lutherans? don't make me laugh.
Methodists? Seventh-Day Adventists? Jehovah's Witnesses?
No. No. and NO.
Look - the LAW says you have to be of
OUR specific religion
(the one TRUE religion, obviously)
in order to get married.
Period.
It is so obvious, I don't get why people can't understand it: THEY must be stupid.
Nothing is OK in OK. Bunch of busy body bedroom police.
ReplyDeleteSo much for smaller government. GOP/tea is always larger government.
Their logic is flawed, there are gay people who are people of faith. My husband and I aren't the same sex and he isn't a christian, does that mean we wouldn't be able to get married? Too many variables. Plus, if the law says that everyone gets a marriage license, then they get one no matter what your beliefs are. Christian forget that passage that says "render under Caesar what is Caesar's. They better start reading the book and stop letting others dictate what to them what's in there.
ReplyDeleteThank god I am NOT a Republican, nor a Christian and don't live in the State of Oklahoma!
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I live in a state where residents have the right to marry whom they wish and can live as atheists, or various religions, openly and freely!
”Russ claims the radical legislation is motivated by his desire to protect court clerks from having to issue licenses to same-sex couples.”
ReplyDeleteRuss is desperate for an issue he campaign on. His bill is the kind of pointless dance that drains legislature time, while keeping the deluded thinking they are getting their money's worth from lawmakers that are just playing games.
Court clerks who aren't willing to do their jobs shouldn't be court clerks.
DeleteThis is actually a great idea.
ReplyDeleteIt is clearly constitutional. A challenge would set in stone, once and for all, that marriage is a fundamental right that government cannot arbitrarily deny.
It also makes conservatives look vile.
constitutional?
DeleteWell now, that is pushing discrimination to the limits. It is totally stupid to have a law mandating that couples can only get married if approved by a member of the clergy. What clergy? The "reverend" whose church is in a back corner of a run-down shopping center and which was established strictly to avoid paying taxes?
ReplyDeleteWill the religious craziness never stop? Only in Oklahomo could such a ridiculous thing happen, but then that may be because there's a "church" of some sort every 1,000 feet or so. It really is a backward state.
People of faith? Like a religious faith? Like a specific religion maybe? But then again, you could interpret "People of Faith" in some many ways. I have faith that the sun is going to rise so does that make me a person of faith? I have faith that my 70 pound dog is going to jump on my in be every morning to be let out. I have faith that my kids will drive me nuts at least once a day. I think anyone who gets married is a person of faith in that they have faith in their partner, regardless of religion or if they are the same gender.
ReplyDeleteJulie Andrews: "I have confidence in ME."
DeleteIt does appear to provide another great opportunity for the Church of Satan to spread out in OK.
DeleteOnce you get past the usual insanity and typical laughter, this scares the shit out of me..I live in Texas and this is the sort of crazy shit coming to a longhorn near you, I can see this happening here too
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that this idiocy would not be declared dead on arrival at any court in the land.
ReplyDeleteFor non believers, the unsaved, and un-Christian athiest trash, there is supposed to be either a common law marriage option, but of course that is illegal under current OK law.
For other than God's chosen perfect Christians, they have made an exception for other marriages, but you have to be married by an "ecclesiastical dignitary"
WTF??!
Just to start with, who gets to decide what "ecclesiastical dignitary" is legitimate or just a mail order charlatan?
IS there going to be a State board to interrogate all the non Christian spirtual leaders?
Do these leaders have to have a state license?
DO these religious fanatic state reps not realize we are a secular democratic Republic, and that non believers have the SAME FUCKING rights as anyone else?
WTF, are they as ignorant, feckless, and uninformed as $arah Paylin?
Yes Cletus, I'm afraid they are nothing more than Christian Ayatollahs wanting a theocracy.
I know some folks that were raised in Oklahoma and are now adults living in my state. They are not very bright and totally screwed up religious freaks!
Deletei live here in oklahoma and find this type of legislation to be absurd beyond the pale. it is ill-conceived, it is horribly discriminatory and it is just plain stupid. we do have bright progressive people in oklahoma -- unfortunately we live in the cities and the oil rich repubs redistrict constantly into their favor.
Deleteso do not believe that we all think this is acceptable.
when al gore came to norman oklahoma to give his 'inconvenient truth' seminar -- he was given a 17 minute standing ovation. and the arena was packed - somewhere around 7000 folks.
when richard dawkins came to speak in norman - the gymnasium was standing room only -- probably at least 1000 and everyone was rapt.
and then we have sally kern.
it is unexplainable.
Um, people of which faith. I'm faithful, a true believer. I believe that state legislatures are pits of teabaggerism at this point in our national history.
ReplyDeleteThe new dust bowl isn't soiled air, it's soiled legislation. Still, the air is darkening. Maybe this will clear all of the sane folks out of Oklahoma. They'll be this depression era's Oakies. The the state can become the christianist Utah. See how that works out for them.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were looking for a minister in Abingdon, Virginia, in 1988, we had to do some classes, and one minister said if he wouldn't touch us with a 10 foot pole, because we wanted a ceremony that didn't involve talking about Jesus. We did find one who agreed to do it, but he still talked about Jesus anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't you have a judge marry you?
DeleteWhat a great opportunity for accepting bribes by the grifter clergy.
ReplyDeleteIt's unconstitutional and will be thrown out( after wasting tax payer $$$$) but this will clear the way for same sex marriage in Oklahoma but these ignorant hypocrites are not one step away from the Taliban, they have always been lock step along side of them. The only difference is they have not been in control of our government.
ReplyDeleteYet. But, the Koch brothers are getting closer...
DeleteI am a very faithful atheist.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have very strong beliefs in my convictions.
So I have faith and strong beliefs.
And if "God" created everything, well then he created me.
What's their problem?
Good luck with that.
ReplyDeleteThe state is never going to give up it's revenue in marriage licenses. And you can't make secular marriage illegal and still require people to buy a license from the state. Nope, the church will be taking over all of that AND the money it generates.
That's totally aside from Russ' Talibangelical direction. Are all us women going to be required to wear long sleeved prairie dresses down to our ankles and sun bonnets over our hair up in braids or buns? No music, no movies, no dancing. Yeah. I get ya.
So many people would rebel, especially young people.
$100 says Todd Russ never read The Handmaid's Tale. And he's still legislating like the book is his blueprint.
After this, the next step would be to mandate which religion you can get married under. I.E. sorry you Catholics and Jews, you can't get married because you're not Southern Baptists. Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans? You must be joking.
Right. Because gay people never go to church. My good friends got married in WA in a church. Idiots.
ReplyDeleteBut I doubt there is a church in Oklahoma that would perform a same sex marriage. There is a reason it's a fly over state.
DeleteIt's actually worse!!! I mean Rep Russ's is an asshat for sure, but Rep Keen has purposed three bills: one to allow businesses to be able to chose not to serve or provide products or accommodations to gay people. Second bill would be the state would have the right to seek and obtain counseling or conversion therapy from a mental health provider in order to control or end any unwanted sexual attraction, and no state agency shall infringe upon that right. This includes minors, as the bill specifically empowers parents to obtain ex-gay therapy for children, I had to read this bill twice and it sounds a lot like let's pray the gay away. AND Third Kern wants to try to prevent couples from getting married even though federal courts have guaranteed them that right (borrowing from legislation proposed in TX ) she wants to prevent government employees from receiving a salary if they issue a same-sex marriage license. “No taxpayer funds or governmental salaries shall be paid for any activity that includes the licensing or support of same-sex marriage,” the bill declares. Not only would clerks lose their salary, pension, and benefits, but any judge who issued a same-sex marriage license “shall be removed from office."
ReplyDeleteSo what about gay clergy? I know a number of gay clergy persons most or all of whom are also same sex married. They also perform same sex marriage.
ReplyDeleteIt sure would simplify divorce, though! Repeat three times: I divorce you! I divorce you! I divorce you.
ReplyDeleteI feel better already.
If that law passes, I'm going into the church business. I'll marry anybody to anybody or anything. I'LL EVEN MARRY MICHELLE BACHMAN'S HUSBAND to a male goat.....for $$$ of course. My internet minister's license is on the way. Praise Allah, Jesus, Budha, Lao Tzu, Gefeltafish, and Zeus!
ReplyDeleteand the noodlely appendage.
DeleteThese religious idiots keep forgetting that there are hundreds of legal rights granted by the federal government to married couples that are not granted to single people.
ReplyDeleteIf the government is going to grant people special rights by virtue of their marital status, the government also needs to have some legal control over certifying that status.
You've made it abundantly clear how you feel about religion and religious clergy, but even you have to admit these are pretty awesome religious leaders.
ReplyDeletehttp://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/26/3615345/clergy-respond-police-use-pictures-black-youth-target-practice-use-us-instead/
This is why it is so important to vote in state/local elections, not just in a presidential year. The Koch brother plan is to start local and work their way up and it seems like they are doing a good job of it.
ReplyDelete