While virtually all constitutional law scholars agree that the First Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits requiring a clergy person to perform any marriage that is contrary to that clergy person's beliefs, the Wyoming legislature (or at least some of those lawmakers) want to make double and even triple sure that no minister or other clergy is forced to perform a same-sex wedding.
From LGBTQ Nation:
The bill is needed to protect clergy from being forced to marry people whose views don’t conform with their own, said Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, a sponsor of the bill.
Legal rulings last year allowed same-sex marriage in Wyoming. Even so, some say the bill isn’t necessary because the First Amendment ensures that no minister or priest would be forced to wed a gay couple.
Dockstader isn’t so sure, however.
“I don’t know if I’m willing to be comfortable relying on a judge to say that,” he said. “So this would just allow us to codify and clarify the law and take it out of the hands of a judge.”
Rep. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, and Rep. Mark Baker, R-Rock Springs, also are sponsoring the bill for introduction in this winter’s legislative session, which begins Jan. 13.
Religious protection already is covered by the U.S. Constitution, said Stephen Feldman, a professor and constitutional law expert at the University of Wyoming.
“My initial reaction is that this is a purely rhetorical or a symbolic political statement,” Feldman said. “No one is forcing a priest or other religious figure to perform same-sex marriages.”
I'm sure that there are droves of gay couples in Wyoming just chomping at the bit to force Catholic bishops or Southern Baptist pastors to perform their marriage ceremonies. Not!