Oklahoma house of reps, bans all secular marriages

House Bill 1125 would restrict the right to marry to people of faith and require all marriage licenses to be approved by a religiously ordained clergy - which would effectively ban all secular marriages in the state,

It passed by a Republican majority and will now go to the state Senate for consideration.

"Marriage was not instituted by government. It was instituted by God. There is no reason for Oklahoma or any state to be involved in marriage,"
- Rep. Dennis Johnson

Oklahoma lol.

Is it really fair to call these people "Christian" anymore? They really don't follow any of the precepts laid down by their alleged religion's founder.

Amen.

that just means preachers will have another revenue stream besides tithes and offering. You will probably have to add an extra 10 dollars or so to your marriage license fee to make sure the church gets its cut. That is really despicable. Marriage is not a religious institution. I'm a christian but marriage predates religion by many years. Marriage is not solely a religious institution. I'm a christian but marriage predates Christianity by centuries.

Okay, go right ahead and waste more taxpayer dollars on legislation that will get thrown right the hell out in court. How the hell do these people get elected?

Honestly the most offensive part about this is pretending that government has nothing to do with marriage.

Government is what makes a marriage. Getting married means sharing assets, property, custody, and filing joint taxes. You take government out of that, and its no longer a commitment. It becomes a simple promise with a ring.

But it's sacred.

Yeah. Divorce rates keep reminding us of that.

What's great about all these red state bible thumpers screaming about the sanctity of marriage is the much higher divorce rate within their own states. Oh and sanctity of life? Yeah… take a guess on that too...

And multiple reality TV shows.

Wait what? Wouldn't that be a complete breach of separation of state and church? Like what the **** happened America? Where did it all go so bat shit crazy and wrong?

so oklahoma practices sharia law now?

will the state then retract any legal benefits of being married since it is now solely a religious institution?

@Blue-Sky: what a lovely country you have USA, what's the slogan again? Land of the Free and home of the brave?

Won't stand up to a constitutional test, if passed this will get struck down after one lawsuit.

**pfft** "both parties are the same"

It is one state and a massive minority trying to pass something massively illegal.

Don't worry, you were right about separation of church and state. Also the current gen is mostly Liberal, last dying breaths of outdated conservatism.

Conservatives. Will be shot-down if passed and in 15 years this will be something to be shocked ever got close to being passed here.

Republicans are "if possible" getting dumber.

Who votes these people in?

Baby Boomers trying to make it 1955 again.

People like this...

Isn't it time to ban all Republicans and make them unelectable into any office?

What's the point? What makes them think that will actually pass in a court?

Because they really are that dreadfully batsh!t insane, and are one of the main key figures as to what is currently giving the human race a bad name.

There should be a law by now that prevents this type of dumb shit. It really does just waste everybody's time and money.

You are going overboard. There are way worse things, like ISIS where they kill gay people and adulterers. This is actually minor and won't get far, and supported by a ever decreasing number of people.

Racist xenophobes?

This is why we need to put more money into our education system. I feel like most republicans don't even know the basics of how the government works.

Like if you asked the typical republican "what are the three branches of government?"

They'd just go on a retarded rant about Jesus.

Yeah. Not sure.

1. He seemed annoyed by the lady.

2. Where was the racism and xenophobia? She just seemed like fanatic. (And no, being against wide open borders is neither of those things)

3. What does that one lady have to do with all republicans?

You seem like a fanatic as well, misled on the other end. (And no, I am not a republican. I am a socialist)

wait... wait i almost found it..... ah nope i lost my faith in humanity again!

I agree. Their should definitely be laws on the books that make legislators financially liable for passing legislation that they know in advance is unconstitutional and will be thrown out. I get that they want to be able to point out what they did and thump their chests about how strongly they tried to defend the "sanctity of marriage" (ignoring the inevitability of a good chunk of it's supporters being divorced themselves) but the cost of drafting it, passing it, and then throwing it out are on the taxpayers right now. That should change.

America is such a fascinating place full of intelligent people.

I'm pretty sure that's unconstitutional.

Silly god-fearing people.

when babies don't get exactly what they want they take their toys and go home.

First the fraternity debacle now this, Oklahoma really is looking like the most close-minded state in the union right now...

Other really dumb people obviously. Most of the people in Oklahoma are stupid. Not to say it doesn't have it's share of brilliant people because it does. But overall, most of them are stupid.

But that ever-deceasing number of people are becoming increasingly bold and desperate.

Not that anyone expects that bill to go anywhere, but it details the underlying hate many social conservatives whip up.

Pretty damn aggravating. Both the left and the right make me utterly disgusted. The most disappointing part is that the masses of brainwashed TV suckers keep voting for both sides. We need legitimate candidates because 98% of them ARE NOT.

It's a sign of desperation.

Conservatives can't stop progress and they know that there is not stopping the equal rights of the LGBT community. They put up the same fight in the 60's as well.

The Minority will become more and more vocal as the public moves against them.

That was one dude wasn't it? I'll have you know that those idiots do not represent conservatism, which is why i said she went overboard. It is the last dying breath of these people, but they don't have the power anymore do anything. Believe me, in 10 years this will be a funny story from our past.

Again, not all conservatives are like that.

And yet, this is Conservative driven Legislation

Lol, and people say religion is harmless.

It's sad, but I don't think it's unconstitutional. Eliminating state-sanctioned marriage means no tax breaks or any other benefits associated with any marriages, though. Also no marriage licenses, fees, etc. It would make things complicated at the federal level, since the US government does recognize marriage and give tax breaks. There would probably have to be a federally-sanctioned marriage license that Oklahomans could apply for.

EDIT: Nevermind, I just read the article. If they are in fact still having marriage licenses that the state recognizes but are requiring you to get one from a church, then that is unconstitutional.

@TheWalkingGhost: doesn't change the fact you guys voted them in and they're trying to pass this. Hell Climate change and global warming is illegal in Florida...

yes they can, and they do

Nice try, I don't vote republican.

So now Oklahoma represents all conservatives in the country? Rethink that faulty statement you just made.

A bit defensive? I guess I would be too.

I never made the claim that Oklahoma represents all Conservatives. I said it was Conservative driven Legislation.

“[My constituents are] willing to have that discussion about whether marriage needs to be regulated by the state at all,” Rep. Mike Turner (R) told News 9. He said the idea has the backing of other conservative lawmakers, and could be achieved through a shell bill he filed in the state legislature, intended to adapt to any court rulings on same-sex marriage.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/25/3205541/oklahoma-lawmaker-ban-marriages-revival-jim-crow-tactic/


And I am correct

A socialist is defensive over you incorrectly bashing members of a political sect he isn't apart of? Trying to deflect?

Yes you did as I said not all conservatives think like that and you said it was a conservative driven legislation; the implication was there and this is you moving the goal posts, it was a broad statement. Your link proves nothing, that doesn't show what you claim it does. But nice try, B+ for effort. (FYI, it is impossible for you to be correct that all conservatives would support that)

This has been fun. Keep trying, I am sure your hatred of conservatives will pay off someday. Me, i really don't care. I was simply stating that you were wrong. It was you who got a tad defensive, I guess I would be too.