"Americans United" Submits Court Brief to Object To Their Own Nebraska Strawman

 [straw man noun noun: strawman 1) a person compared to a straw image; a sham. 2) a sham argument set up to be defeated.]

 

The group "Americans United for Separation of Church and State" submitted a "Friend of the Court" [PDF File]t o the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case challenging the constitutionality of the ban on same-sex marriage in Nebraska. Opponents of marriage equality have argued that legalization of these unions will spawn conflicts with religious liberty.

However, this was AU reasoning:

• “There is no reason to think that a constitutional right to marry would lead to any new or intractable conflicts between religious liberty and antidiscrimination provisions........Recognizing a right to marry will not automatically extend or alter any protections for same-sex couples currently available under federal or state antidiscrimination laws.”

But when did anyone ever say that? The main issues at hand is that there are many pastors who do not want to be involved in gay marriages, and also businesses that conscientiously object to being forced to participate in gay marriages by being forced to provide services.

Barry Lynn, who is executive director of American United, stated “There is no legal reason that same-sex marriage and religious freedom cannot co-exist. The Religious Right has created a false conflict where there is none, and I hope the court will not be fooled by this flimsy argument.”

Lynn and his group have successfully delivered a "friend of the court" to address their own straw man by addressing a "flimsy argument" that they made up themselves..