Do you believe marriage is for members of the opposite sex?
How strongly do you believe that?
Is your belief strong enough to face jail time for your opinion?
How would you feel if you were forced by a city or state or federal government to participate in a same-sex wedding?
Would your opinion change if your decision not to participate could land you in jail?
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These are not hypothetical questions for Christian pastors Donald and Evelyn Knapp.
They are actually living this nightmare in bucolic Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
The owners of the Hitching Post wedding chapel were the latest believers to be set up by homosexual activists for prosecution and persecution for their religious convictions that include the very simple and fundamental biblical principal, first enunciated in Genesis and later affirmed by Jesus in the Gospels, that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.
I surmise they were set up because they were entrapped in what has clearly become a nationwide pattern in which homosexuals approach Christian caterers, photographers, videographers, cake bakers, florists and other professionals who work weddings to provide services for same-sex marriage ceremonies and celebrations.
I can almost predict Christian musicians will be next. It seems to be the one professional group missing from the targets of homosexual intolerance and coercive government tyranny.
If you don't think this is a big deal, consider how fast the same-sex marriage craze has spread in a few years.
Four years ago, Barack Obama claimed to be undecided about same-sex marriage. Two years ago, he said he was personally supportive but thought it should be left to the states to decide. This week he told the New Yorker he has determined the U.S. Constitution absolutely guarantees same-sex marriage to anyone who wants to take part in them.
Increasingly, however, we see what this means to people who simply disagree because of their principled convictions of faith. State and local laws and officials are already determining religious convictions and First Amendment rights take a backseat to this newly discovered inalienable right for men to marry men and women to marry women.
People like the Knapps, who believe sincerely that marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, are part of the new class destined for jail, re-education camps or the unemployment line.
The Knapps, though, are fighting back, God bless them. They have filed a lawsuit to defend themselves.
"Performing same-sex wedding ceremonies would ... force the Knapps to condone, promote and even consecrate something forbidden by their religious beliefs and ordination vows," the suit reads.
As for Coeur d'Alene, it does not even have a law specifically regarding same-sex marriage. But the city did pass an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in 2013. It applies to housing, employment and "public accommodation." Religious entities are exempt from the ordinance. But City Attorney Warren Wilson has determined for-profit businesses like the Knapps' Hitching Post would be forced to comply.
By the way, Warren gave that view publicly before anyone asked the Knapps for use of their facility for a same-sex wedding. Only last Friday did a man call the business to ask if he could hold one there. The Knapps politely rejected the offer. Now they are requesting a temporary restraining order to stop the city from throwing the book at them.
They would face up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 in fines for each day they refuse to conduct same-sex weddings. That means they could face three-and-a-half years in jail and $7,000 in fines for a week of civil disobedience.
Amazing.
Scary.
Un-American.
I suppose the "fundamental transformation of America" is nearly complete.
How do you like it so far?
Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact [email protected].
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