That's what the headline coming out of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho SHOULD have been. But instead, the right-wing blogosphere is brimming with headlines like:
Christian Chapel Owners Were Reportedly Threatened With Jail Time and Fines For Refusing to Marry Gays — and Now They’re Fighting Back
And:
City threatens to arrest ministers who refuse to perform same-sex weddings
I have no idea if the purported threat is genuine; I can't seem to find any record of this story from a reputable source. But if you read those headlines and said "There must be a catch," then congratulations on not being born yesterday.
But the chapel is also registered as a for-profit business – not as a church or place of worship – and city officials said that means the owners must comply with a local nondiscrimination ordinance.
While some might be wondering why ordained ministers are purportedly being forced to marry gay couples, consider that the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel, which opened in 1989, is a for-profit business, which means it is not exempt from local nondiscrimination regulations.
And there's your catch. Essentially, this is the same bit of hypocrisy we saw from Hobby Lobby. A business claims religious privilege when it suits them - in this case, allowing them to indulge their prejudice against gay people. Yet they are conveniently able to look past such fundamental Christian principles as "whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33) or "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24). Jesus makes it quite clear: there can be no such thing as "Christian profit." It's inherently contradictory, like "Kosher bacon" or "tolerable praise music."
Let's not even address the issue of how He would feel about the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony being carried out at a place called the "Hitching Post."
The Religious Right has achieved a sense of entitlement so great that they have lost all connection to the founding principles of separation of church and state. That wall exists so that government cannot interfere with the private beliefs of citizens. It does not exist so that a privileged class can simply shout "But, Jesus!" every time they are confronted with a law or a tax that they find annoying. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion, not "Congress shall not mess with thine bottom line."
The good news is that there is a solution for the ministers in question. All they must do is get out of the wedding for profit industry. As Jesus said, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven" (Matthew 19:21).
I'm sure by "treasure in heaven," He meant "all the gay-bashing you can handle."