Quote:
Originally Posted by thetalady
MC, does this decision also mean that religious leaders of all faiths will be required to perform same sex marriages? Could they be prosecuted for discrimination if they refuse? or is that an issue coming later down the road?
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Interesting question.
I'm currently based in The Netherlands, the first country to allow same-sex marriage over 12 years ago. In the past years there has been a lot of debate on this issue, expanding it to include civil servants. Quite an interesting debate, though the population isn't as religious as the American people are, only about 40% are religious. The main religions are Protestantism and Catholicism.
The Protestant Church here left it up to individual congregations to decide of they wanted to bless same-sex marriages, and most now do. The Roman Catholic Church has not allowed blessings in their churches, but other Catholic movements do.
Legally, all civil servants are required to conduct same-sex marriages, though if they were hired before the law came in to place, they cannot be fired over refusal to do so. What it comes down to is that every municipality has at least one civil servant who conducts same-sex marriages.
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