The Seventh State

Washington State will be the seventh state to have marriage equality joining Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. 42% of Americans now allow either marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples. Unfortunately that leaves 58% still being discriminated against.

What were some of the arguments that the opposition used in Washington State?

Truth Needle | Gay-marriage wave of lawsuits claim mostly false
Gay-marriage opponents have said there will be a rash of civil suits against individuals and businesses that don't want to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples because of their religious beliefs. Our Truth Needle concludes that claim is mostly false.
Seattle Times
By Susan Kelleher
February 11, 2012

The claim: Opponents of same-sex marriage in Washington state have said there will be a rash of civil suits against individuals and businesses that don't want to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples because it conflicts with their religious beliefs.

I wrote about conflicts with religious beleifs and the law the other day; that you cannot use religion to violate the law. There are a number of Supreme Court decisions that ruled that you cannot use religion to discriminate. Also the law exempts religious organizations from preforming same-sex marriages.

The article goes on to point that out…

Six other states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage. None has experienced a surge in civil suits against businesses or religious organizations that refuse service to same-sex marriage on religious grounds, a fact acknowledged by even opponents of same-sex marriage.

States that have legalized same-sex marriage seem to have neutralized the potential for suits against religious organizations and religious officials with language that allows those organizations to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages or perform same-sex weddings without being sued for discrimination.
[…]
But nothing would change for businesses. They would still have to follow the state's anti-discrimination law, which currently makes it illegal to discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, military status or honorable discharge from the military.

Everyone has to obey the law. Substitute any of the protected classes for sexual orientation and most people will agree that you cannot discriminate on religious grounds based on the race of a person. So why do they think it is okay to discriminate because a person’s sexual orientation?