By Bob Allen
The Texas Senate gave final approval May 12 to legislation protecting clergy from being forced to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies that violate their religious beliefs. The bill, supported by the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, now goes before the more moderate Texas House of Representatives.
SB 2065, filed by Sen. Craig Estes, a Republican and Presbyterian elder from Wichita Falls, Texas, is one of more than 20 bills moving in the Texas legislature in anticipation of a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage this summer.
Republican senators insisted the bill would protect only clergy and houses of worship that refuse to marry same-sex couples. Democrats described the bill as vaguely worded and argued it could be used to expand discrimination against gay and lesbian Texans.
Witnesses testifying in support of the bill at a hearing May 4 included Gus Reyes, director of the Christian Life Commission, public policy arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
“We function within the laws of our land but also hold certain beliefs that the majority may not like,” Reyes told the Senate Committee on State Affairs. “True religious freedom is not needed much by those who hold views supported by the majority of people. Religious freedom is needed most by those who hold views that are in the minority.”
Reyes asked committee members to “affirm the well-established position of allowing people to worship God or no God as they see fit and to serve their communities in ways consistent with their faith.”
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