Following Lawsuit, This County Can No Longer Force Ministers to Officiate Same-Sex Weddings

Alliance Defending Freedom : Oct 27, 2020
LifeSiteNews.com

"Cuyahoga County's law made Kristi face an impossible choice: disobey the law, defy her own faith, or ditch her business. She no longer faces that choice. No matter one's views on marriage, we all lose when the government can force citizens to participate in religious ceremonies they oppose, speak messages they disagree with, and stay silent about beliefs they hold dear..." -ADF Legal Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse

(Cleveland, OH) — [LifeSiteNews.com] Faced with a federal lawsuit, Cuyahoga County has agreed to a proposed court judgment filed Friday that allows a Cleveland-area minister and wedding business owner to operate consistent with her belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. (Image: Pixabay)

In July, ADF attorneys filed suit on behalf of Kristi Stokes and her business, Covenant Weddings, to challenge a law that the county now agrees cannot be used to force her to use her ministry and business to officiate and compose homilies, vows, and prayers for same-sex weddings even as she continues to officiate and promote weddings between one man and one woman.

As part of the agreed-upon proposed judgment, the county will not enforce its law—which threatens fines of $1,000–$5,000 per violation, depending on their frequency—against Stokes or other ministers because Stokes' business is not a place of public accommodation and because she and other ministers should not be forced to act contrary to her religious beliefs... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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