The atheist marriage ceremony hasn’t been a big deal for decades now, but if you live in Oklahoma, that just changed. The Sooner state has made it illegal to perform marriages between people who claim no faith.
It appears that anyone who doesn’t believe in God, Mary, or any other publicly recognized deity is going to have to go to Las Vegas and elope. Even then, there is no guarantee that Oklahoma will recognize the relationship status as easily as Facebook might.
Metro has called this new law an attack on gay marriage , since the church regularly does not condone the union of two men or two women. Following the fact that Oklahoma was considered the state with the worst quality of life in 2013, as previously reported by the Inquisitr , this could easily drive more residents to other states.
http://t.co/sLl0Xpfh6Z Oklahoma stops state marriage licenses, says couples must go through clergy – too bad if your an atheist.Totally nuts
— Susan Maylone (@SusanMaylone) March 17, 2015
The problem with the atheist marriage ceremony in Oklahoma is now, weddings need to be performed by a member of clergy, an ordained minister. The same stands for marriage licenses, as the courts and judicial system no longer handle those … church leaders do.
Representative Dennis Johnson fully backs the new law with the following statement.
“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.”
Approved by the Oklahoma State House on Tuesday, House Bill 1125 eliminates all secular weddings.
Independent claims that it makes sense, since most atheists reject the idea of marriage anyway, coming up with their own union types.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t gay Christians or others of faith, but it will make it harder for same-sex weddings to happen in Oklahoma.
What do you think of Oklahoma banning the atheist marriage ceremony? Does it make sense to you, or is it a thinly veiled attack on LGBT unions?
[Image via Building Rubble , Freedom to Marry ]
