Roy Moore, Alabama Chief Idiot back in the news yet again.

Ken Ham isn't subject to the First Amendment, Alabama isn't subject to federal law, God's in his heaven, all's well with the world.--Percy

We're fortunate to live in a country where the majority's penchant for tyranny is held in check. The will of the people *should* will out, but not to target disfavored groups for persecution. Our country embraces principles that mere majorities cannot vanquish.--PercyEdited by Percy, : Add last sentence.

You're claiming harm to fundamentalist Christians when there is none. It should be no skin off your nose that married gay couples exist. You want to impose your religious views on others by denying a group rights that everyone else has. No one's imposing their religious views upon you. You're still free to practice your religion as you see fit. Fundamentalist ministers across the country are still fully within their rights to refuse to marry gay couples, and to refuse to admit married gay couples into their congregations. But the state is not a religion and cannot deny rights to any group.--Percy

Businesses do not have religious beliefs that they can exercise to deny rights to others. That's a privilege granted churches, not businesses.--Percy

Uh, yes, of course. I likened businesses to churches because both are organizations, but it's fine if you prefer to put it in personal terms. Freedom of religion is a right given to people and churches, not businesses. Businesses do not have the right to the free exercise of religion because businesses do not have religions, people and churches do.--Percy

Yes, of course. Fundamentalist Christians are protected by the First Amendment in the free exercise of their religion. They are not protected by the First Amendment in the running of their business, which is a secular activity.--Percy

Businesses never had any First Amendment protections. Owners and employees of businesses are not free to inflict their personal religious prejudices on the general public. They have to treat everyone equally.This principle protects everyone, including you. Dover, Pennsylvania, became divided over the evolution issue a few years ago. Businesses on one side could not refuse to do business with those on the other. Otherwise someone like you might go to the market and place your goods on the counter only to be told, "Your money's no good here. Why don't you just turn around and walk out that door."--Percy

In the secular world, homosexuality is a sexual preference. In your religious world maybe it is a sin/aberration, but there are limits to the degree you can act on your religious beliefs. Slap a gay person in the face and you're risking a charge of assault, even in your own church. Refuse to sell to a gay person what you would sell anyone else and you're risking a charge of discrimination, denial of civil rights and the like. But religions don't get to decide what's legal and illegal. That's the state's responsibility, and the state doesn't hold homosexuality illegal. Homosexuals are not asking for special rights. They're asking for the same rights as everyone else. Religious sins are not against the law, and the multiplicity of religions don't agree on what's a sin anyway. The Catholics used to believe it a sin to eat meat on Friday, but they would never call the police to report Methodists eating meat on Friday. That would have been absurd, yet you're making the equally absurd request that it be against the law for people to sin against your religion. Someone as hateful as yourself definitely has no idea what God says.--Percy

Blackstone lived a long time ago, and I didn't find anything in the Declaration of Independence that even remotely echoes what you say about common law. I found Blackstone's commentaries over at Google Books, and searches did not find the phrase "ultra vires", maybe you can help me out there.I did find this interesting tidbit in the commentaries: So it looks like old Blackstone believed in witchcraft, and he wasn't much for separation of church and state. Blackstone doesn't seem to be particularly pertinent to this discussion.--Percy

Many factors, Christianity included, influenced American law. First, homosexuals are only being granted the same rights as everyone else. They are not being given any special protections.Second, the First Amendment proscribes the incorporation of religious beliefs into law. Your belief that it is a slap in God's face to give homosexuals the same rights as everyone cannot influence law in this country because of this amendment.The owners and employees of secular businesses cannot discriminate on the basis of their personal religious beliefs. This protects everyone from religiously based discrimination, including you.--Percy

I explored a very similar issue with you in another thread, and you gave a very similar non-answer.You have beliefs that you did not arrive at by any rational chain of reasoning, so the flaws and fallacies of your after the fact rationalizations are readily apparent, and when they're called to your attention you fall back on, "Trust me, I know."But almost your every message is full of errors and fallacies. You know what you believe, but you seem to know or accept little about the real world. You live in a fantasyland and have taken on the impossible task of convincing everyone else that it is real.--Percy

Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence: --Percy