Supreme Court Ruling on Gay Marriage

[DubaiSis]

To address thetalady's question, I would think (and accept) that any church could participate or not. Currently some (but I think not all) Catholic churches will only perform marriages physically inside the church - no outdoor ceremonies, and I see that as a similar type of policy. I personally see it as freedom to associate, and I have no problem with there being a disconnect between public policy and church policy.

And regarding the federal versus states issue, the big assumption is this is exactly the next battle in this war. Couple from Iowa who has been married for several years moves to Utah. Can their new home really deny them rights (and a lot of the important ones like end of life issues would be state policy)? The most conservative states are going to be bombarded with law suits because of this. But that doesn't mean the churches in those states need to play along.

To me, the next interesting battle will be about plural marriage. And for the record, I have no problem with plural marriage as long as everyone is adult and it is truly consenting among all parties. The Shariah contract would be perfect for this. Can you imagine Utah enacting Shariah Law? In Shariah Law, as it was explained to me in Dubai, is the bride signs off in the contract (basically a REALLY detailed prenup) on whether or not she will allow additional wives, and how many. In modern Islam, the max number of wives is 4. But that's a discussion for another time.