After years of conservative Christians claiming we need to stick to “traditional marriage,” a Missouri state representative (and ordained deacon) has introduced a bill that would literally redefine marriage and put it entirely in the hands of churches.
State Rep. T.J. Berry put forth House Bill 1434 to put religions entirely in control of defining “marriage” and conducting those ceremonies. If you decide to get married without being a church member, you would be considered part of a “domestic union.”
If only churches can sanction marriages, and people who don’t want to go that route don’t have access to the term (for lack for better words), they could miss out on a lot of benefits the government gives to married couples. That’s precisely that problem the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality was supposed to prevent.
This bill has been discussed by a few LGBT-friendly websites, but for the most part it has remained under the radar, meaning people aren’t even aware it’s being debated.
While it’s not likely that Berry’s bill passes, it’s important to pay attention because this type of rhetoric is becoming more and more common in our modern America, and it’s a threat to both same-sex and non-religious couples across the country.