Just when you thought Pastor DooHickey was becoming more rational, Mr. Irrational rears his head. In light of the latest SC ruling on same-sex federal benefits. Hickey had this to say;
Hickey, who also is a Republican representative for Sioux Falls, says the decision is a blow to religious freedom.
“I’m not surprised,†Hickey said. “We can see where this is going, but people need to think about the end game: Gay rights trump religious rights.â€
Hickey is concerned that those who are morally opposed to gay marriage will be labeled as bigots and forced to behave against their conscience. He’s worried that he and other pastors will be forced to perform gay marriages at some point in the future.
He’s even a bit concerned about pastors being jailed for preaching against homosexuality. Something along the lines of this.
He says he won’t perform same sex marriages, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.
“They can put me in jail for that if they want,†Hickey said.
First off, the SC is still allowing states to decide whether they want to allow same sex couples to marry, and in good old South Dakota, that has been illegal since 2006. Secondly, even if it were legal in SD, I don’t think gays will be lining up outside Steve’s church to get married, it would be like going to Steve’s church to get an abortion, just not gonna happen.
As a SD gay rights advocate so eloquently said;
As for how this will affect gay and lesbians in South Dakota, Himmel-Roberts said: “I think we tend to be 25 years behind everyone else. We have a state Legislature that is made up of extremists. Until we can get some middle-of-the-road and good old true South Dakotans with South Dakota values, we’re going to be a testing ground for all these ridiculous laws.â€
Extremists? Don’t be so polite.
Our constitution mandates separation of church and state. A minister will never be forced to marry gays if it’s against his religion. There are so many wealthy gays because they couldn’t be married. Get them married so they’ll be divorced to make lawyers rich and keep the general population poor.
The one good thing about being human is sharing your life with another human. For me that’s a woman. Others have the freedom to choose. However, keep it simple. You can’t marry sheep or your Mustang Convertible.
It will take years before SD allows gays to marry. I am happy for all my gay friends today because it is a start. We are still so backward and going more so with the GOP ruling the state. Sadly, I hear a lot of young voices who have been brainwashed by the last several generations. We can only hope.
Hickey’s misunderstanding of the Constitution wouldn’t be so upsetting if he wasn’t actually a part of our legislature.
I don’t really blame Hickey though… I blame the morons who elected him.
Repeat after me kids – freedom of religion does not give you the right to discriminate against others in the public square.
What you do in your church is entirely up to you, but you will still need to follow basic laws so you can’t use a religion as a shield to allow you to marry six wives, enslave those of another race, commit murder, take a 12 year old bride, or not pay personal income taxes. That is not allowing polygamy rights or murderer rights or pedophile rights to trump religious rights… that is just how law works.
Of course, no amount of logic will prevent people like Hickey from proclaiming they will be “forced” to do something. Granted that makes no sense as nobody is being forced to do a thing here. If Steve doesn’t want to marry homosexuals he has the right to say no just as he isn’t currently forced to marry any heterosexual couple who asks. Being legally ABLE to do something is not the same as being legally MANDATED to do so.
I’m so sick of religious leaders, especially in this state, constantly whining that they are being persecuted. Allowing gays to marry should have no effect on him. Go ahead and keep blustering about how weather is God’s wrath, and all of that nonsense. If people are dumb enough to believe that, then more power to him.
People need to give their thanks to Rep. Steve Hickey for standing tall when others are willing to bend over! This is a great Bill that protects South Dakota families! What a distrust of our system if it would allow a boy to claim he was a girl then break all the current girls sports records and we are supposed to accept them for the choice they made? What a crock!!! It was wrong for law makers to recognize the gay way as a minority! African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Natives all have a heritage, a culture, a cuisine, what do gays bring? Some argue that this is a religious issue but it is really a family issue. In all our scientific advances we’re obtuse to think people are born gay. Science has not found a gay gene. Further proof of this is within the gay community: If only .0001% of the population are “born gay†how is it that children raised with same sex parents are 50% likely to choose that lifestyle? Which brings it back to being a family issue and our reason against gay marriage which will increase adoptions to gay couples. What are these children being expose to that they make this life choice, Dr. Dobson, Dr. Spock or Kinsley? And it is a choice! A person can choose to come out and claim they are gay then transgress to Bi or Transgender and once there they can choose to go straight. Can a Zebra choose to be a Mustang? We need to thank everyone willing to stand tall.