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Some, Including Detroit Catholic Bishops, Object To Gay Marriage Ruling

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Not everyone today is celebrating the Supreme Court decision to make gay marriage legal in every state.

Erin Mersino, with the Thomas Moore Law Center in Ann Arbor, says the ruling puts religion under attack.

"Because it's not a constitutional right, we are going to be seeing this major head-on collision with people who want to exercise their sincerely held belief, so really religious freedom is under attack," Mersino said.

Mersino says new laws must be passed to protect "religious freedoms" of businesses, churches, and others.

She said Christians have been persecuted through the last few years for taking positions against gay marriage, especially Christians involved with the wedding industry.

"We've seen Christian bakers ostracized, actually charged and prosecuted and ticketed," she said, referencing an Oregon case where a bakery was prosecuted for violating the state's equality act when they refused to bake a cake for a gay couple's wedding. The bakery eventually closed its doors.

Seconding her position are Michigan's seven Catholic dioceses, who said the court's ruling "will create inestimable conflicts" between the state and the church.

"The experience of same-sex attraction is a reality that calls for attention, sensitivity and pastoral care. While every person is called to love and deserves to be loved, today's momentous decision will not change the truth of the Church's teaching on marriage," reads the bishops' statement.

The bishops' statement says the decision puts religious liberty at risk.

"Going forward, the Supreme Court's decision to redefine marriage will have a significant ripple effect upon the First Amendment right to religious liberty," adds the bishops' statement.

 

 

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