HomosexualityUS pastor jailed for refusing to marry gay couple
This comes shortly after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision ruling that states must allow gay-marriage.
A pastor at the Christian Proctor Church in Vermont,
has been sentenced to one year in federal prison after refusing to marry
a gay couple.
This comes shortly after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision ruling that states must allow gay-marriage.
The Christian Pastor, 56-year-old Paul Horner, had his lawyer speak to reporters on his behalf.
“We
are currently disputing the guilty verdict and I am confident my client
will be a free man here shortly,” said attorney Tom Downey. “Horner was
just using his best judgement according to his rights and religious
freedom in this country.”
The Honorable Myron Danus handed down the harsh sentence.
“Religious
freedom goes both ways, Mr. Horner,” Danus told a packed courtroom. “It
is not your place to deny individuals the same rights that everyone
else has, rights that were passed down and agreed upon in a court of
law, the ultimate court, the Supreme Court. It is not your decision
whether or not you agree with the law but more importantly that you
follow it and enforce it.”
According to the
criminal investigation, the Christian Proctor Church is registered with
the state as a “religious corporation” limited to performing
“one-man-one-woman marriages as defined by the Holy Bible.”
But
the church is also registered as a for-profit business and city
officials said that means the owners must comply with state and federal
regulations.
Steve Shand president of the Vermont
Family Research Committee, said it is “open season on Americans who
refuse to bow to the government’s redefinition of marriage.”
“Homosexuals
are gay,” Shand told reporters. “Why should Christian ministers be
forced to perform and celebrate any marriage that conflicts with their
beliefs? It’s a slippery slope my friend. Pretty soon these same pastors
will be forced to wed animals or kitchen appliances. This is not my
America!”
Gwen Hawkins who is president of the LGBT Pride Center in Vermont said she is happy with the guilty verdict.
“We
just want the same rights as everyone else and this guilty verdict sets
a great precedent,” Hawkins said. “These fanatical Christians base
their life on one verse in the Bible but they seem to forget the other
99% of the verses in the book. For example, why can’t we stone to death
Bristol Palinfor having a baby out of wedlock? And what about her
mother, Sarah Palin, breaking the rules ofCorinthians 14:34 which
clearly state that as a woman, she is not allowed to teach or to assume
authority over a man; she must be quiet. But no, they like to pick the
one verse in the Bible about gay people and build their camp around it.”
Proctor
is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was
1,741 at the 2010 census. Proctor is home to the Vermont Marble Museum
and Wilson Castle.
Comments