The last time I checked, marriage is a legal binding contract between two  people. The license for this contract is issued by the government, not by a religious organization.

The government allows certain individuals to sign these documents making them legal. Nowhere is it mandatory for these individuals to perform these ceremonies.

If a religious person does not want to perform in the contract they don’t have to. However, why deny the civil rights of certain individuals due to religious beliefs?

That is why there is a separation of church and state. I have not had any homosexual persons trying to force their beliefs or lifestyle on me or tell me what a marriage is. I wish I could say the same for conservative religious persons.

Michael Van Voorst

Oak Harbor