So I wrote a letter to Ms. Hartzler:
Dear Representative Hartzler:
I write as a member of the Episcopal Church; a sister church of the Church of England within the Anglican Communion; a church that is both catholic and reformed.
It is a church where the rite of holy matrimony, as set out in the Book of Common Prayer, is used regularly to unite loving couples in life-long marriage. Under the church’s laws, those couples may be either opposite-sex or same-sex couples.
From your recent speech on the floor of the House, I know of your opposition to the Respect for Marriage Act. But it is that very act that assures all my fellow parishioners that their marriages are recognized in both church and secular law.
While I understand that your personal religious beliefs vary from mine, I also call on you, as one of our nation’s leaders, to uphold the Constitutional requirement for free exercise of religion, and ensuring thereby the equality of all Americans before the law.
Sincerely,
Church marriages are more than a rite. They are also a contract in law. States are generally supposed to recognize the judicial acts of the other states, and a marriage contract is one of them. The Respect for Marriage Act nails that down.
Excellent!