The tide of marriage for same-sex couples has ebbed and flowed over the last decade with no end in sight. Because marriage sits squarely at the intersection of religion, law and society, the discussion around same-sex couples’ inclusion into the institution of marriage has been one of the most complex and hotly contested topics in America.
The freedom of religion is very important and discussions about it should be thoughtful. To argue that states’ anti-discrimination laws should not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation is to argue that those same laws should not protect against discrimination based on religion or any other important category that our laws identify. That does not respect the freedom of religion. Some individuals have religious objections to other people’s religions, as well as to equal roles for women or to marriage for same-sex couples. There is no integrity to arguing that anti-discrimination laws are fine as long as they apply only to other people. Conflicts between different people’s civil rights have been around for a long time, and our democratic society has developed well-established rules that attempt to work things out for the best of everyone as a whole. The discussion should be guided by those time-tested rules, putting the good of all people first rather than the good of some people first.
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