#but dont hate them
Let’s be real here for a second, guys. Just because something is not banned does not mean everyone has to do it. Prohibition of alcohol was repealed by the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution, but that does not mean everyone has to drink. Nobody is forcing21-year olds to drink.
No priest, pastor, minister, or justice of the peace is being forced to witness a marriage between a same-sex couple. Just like no priest, minister, etc. before was forced to witness a marriage of any other two people they didn’t see fit to marry. It is just illicit now for an entire state to forbid same-sex marriages. [Which to me is fine; it’s not the government’s job to instill a moral code upon our society.]
Legislation of civil or legal marriage also has no bearing on the Sacrament of Marriage. The two use the same words to describe themselves, but they are entirely different concepts. One provides legal rights and protections to two close (ideally loving, but not always) individuals who agree to share such sanctions. It is dissoluble when such an arrangement is no longer beneficial or desirable. [This is the kind ruled in the Supreme Court decision and the kind that everyone should have access to, regardless of whether you call it marriage or not.] The other is a lasting covenant shared between two children of God who are called and wish to help each other and their families grow in their universal vocation of holiness. It is insoluble by nature of the union as long as both individuals are living. The second type makes the first necessary, but not vice versa. We often confuse and commingle the two, but they can and do exist separately from each other.
So in all of this, realize that your religious liberties are not being attacked. Don’t waste time defending yourself from a ruling that does not directly damage your faith. Use this opportunity to love your friends and the people you know who are celebrating this Supreme Court decision. Be glad with them that they can now have their loved ones visit them in hospitals and jails. Be glad with them that they can now share military, social security, education, and tax benefits. Be glad with them that they can now claim the marital communications privilege, which means a court can’t force them to disclose confidential communications between them. Be glad that they are no longer being stigmatized and excluded in the laws of our nation.
You can be happy for someone without having to agree with them.
