“There need to be some clear questions raised.”

Last updated on: June 29, 2015 at 9:57 pm by Dan Peterson

“There need to be some clear questions raised.” 2015-06-29T21:57:55-06:00 Dan Peterson

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A friend has given me permission to share something that he wrote in response to the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell v. Hodges:

For those of you who support gay marriage or who think we should just move on, I would like to enlist your support in defending institutions like BYU that have an Honor Code regarding marriage and sexual behavior. I’ve included below quotes by gay marriage advocates calling for the removal of federal funding from schools like BYU. What does that mean? It means the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to BYU and billions to similar schools.

BYU, its students, and faculty receive the following support from the federal government: PELL Grants (outright gifts/grants), federally-guaranteed student loans (with a subsidized interest rate), and faculty research grants. BYU also has a federal and state tax-exempt status. Gifts to BYU are deductible from federal and state income taxes, and BYU does NOT have to pay local property taxes. A conservative Christian school in a wealthy urban area would probably have to shut down or move, if it had to pay property taxes. I’m afraid we are facing a very long period of litigation that will force BYU and the Church to spend millions to defend themselves. Here are the quotes below from an article that appeared in the Deseret News.

According to Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, an attorney and director of Women of Reform Judaism in New York City, that fight may already have been decided because the Supreme Court’s ruling embeds same-sex marriage rights into law.

“The short answer is a university taking federal dollars is obligated to follow federal law,” Rabbi Feldman said. And after the Supreme Court ruling, the decision “has the force of law, and once it is embedded as a constitutional right, those options (to deny housing to same-sex couples) no longer exist.”

Another, smaller segment of evangelicals lined up with mainline Christian groups such as the UCC and the Episcopalians. Activist Brandon Robertson organized a group of 100 evangelical pastors and thought leaders, including former NAE public policy chief Richard Cizik, to support same-sex marriage. The group released a statement that said, in part, “We join with millions of people around the country in celebration of this major step towards justice and equality for LGBTQ people in the United States.”

Robertson said that while he “absolutely believes” in conscience rights for evangelicals and others who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds, the question of protecting faith-based schools and other organizations is, in his view, more nuanced.

“If the school is taking federal money, they should have to comply with federal regulations,” Robertson said. “If it is completely private, they should be able to hold whatever beliefs they want. There need to be some clear questions raised.”

Posted from Newport Beach, California

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