Marriage Equality as Religious Freedom

Here's a nice ju-jitsu move on the homophobic freakazoids who think "religious freedom" means only that homophobic freakazoids have the right to force everyone else to follow their stupid, inhumane, un-American, Bronze Age rules.

In what I believe to be a first-of-its-kind anywhere in America, North Carolina clergymen of all denominations, are going to the Federal Courts to stop the state from violating their and their congregants' first Amendment rights. This morning was D-Day for a startling campaign to just stop the bigotry against LGBT couples and their religious faith and the faith of the religious communities they are part of. According to our friends at the Campaign for Southern Equality, an Asheville-based group that promotes LGBT rights in the South, a court case was filed in the Western District of North Carolina "on behalf of the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a national denomination, clergy from across faith traditions and same-sex couples. The case challenges the constitutionality of marriage laws in North Carolina-- including Amendment One-- that ban marriage between same-sex couples and make it illegal for clergy to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples within their congregations. Clergy plaintiffs seek the religious freedom to perform these ceremonies and same-sex couples seek the freedom to marry.

The bonus here is establishing - or rather re-establishing - the Constitutional principle that "freedom of religion" means keeping your fucking nose out of anybody else's personal business.