Another Utah Amendment Is Coming

“The truth is, the main reason I’m proposing this is that I just want people to relax. If they know they have their federal religious guarantees in writing, I hope they will just relax. Like Wayne Gretzky said, ‘A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.’ I think this is where the law is going and want to put some extra protection in place.” – Utah GOP state Rep. Jacob Anderegg, who has introduced a constitutional amendment that exempts churches from participating in gay marriages against their wishes, which has never happened anywhere in the history of everything.

More from the Salt Lake Tribune:

Even Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, who is gay and was married after the ban was struck down, does not oppose the idea. “I don’t think anybody wants to be married by somebody that doesn’t want to marry them,” he said, adding it could help end worries and fighting. However, Dabakis says he would support the amendment only if it were changed to require a civil marriage first for everyone, followed by a possible religious ceremony to help make clear that “civil marriage is a constitutional right.” Anderegg says some conservatives have told him his amendment is not needed because the First Amendment already guarantees religious freedom. On the other hand, he also has been told that some lawmakers may try to expand his amendment beyond covering just clergy and churches to also seek protection for commercial enterprises that do not want to participate in same-sex weddings, noting that some wedding photographers and cake makers have been sued in other states.

Read Anderegg’s bill in full.