Horner of the Christian Proctor Church in Vermont, was given a sentence of one-year jail term in the federal prison.
Handing down the sentence, Honorable Myron Danus said, “Religious freedom goes both ways, Mr. Horner.
“It is not your place to deny individuals the same rights that everyone else has, rights that were passed down and agreed upon in a court of law, the ultimate court, the Supreme Court.
“It is not your decision whether or not you agree with the law but more importantly that you follow it and enforce it.”
Speaking to journalists after the court session, Horner’s lawyer said, “We are currently disputing the guilty verdict and I am confident my client will be a free man here shortly,” said attorney Tom Downey.
“Horner was just using his best judgement according to his rights and religious freedom in this country.”
Investigators discovered that Horner’s church is registered with the state as a “religious corporation” which is only entitled to joining “one-man-one-woman marriages as defined by the Holy Bible.”
City officials are of the view that the church authorities must comply with state and federal regulations since it is also registered as a for-profit business.
President of the Vermont Family Research Committee, Steve Shand, said it is “open season on Americans who refuse to bow to the government’s redefinition of marriage.”
“Homosexuals are gay. Why should Christian ministers be forced to perform and celebrate any marriage that conflicts with their beliefs? It’s a slippery slope my friend. Pretty soon these same pastors will be forced to wed animals or kitchen appliances. This is not my America!”
According to NBC, Gwen Hawkins who is president of the LGBT Pride Center in Vermont said she is happy with the guilty verdict.
Hawkins said, “We just want the same rights as everyone else and this guilty verdict sets a great precedent.
“These fanatical Christians base their life on one verse in the Bible but they seem to forget the other 99% of the verses in the book. For example, why can’t we stone to death Bristol Palinfor having a baby out of wedlock? And what about her mother, Sarah Palin, breaking the rules ofCorinthians 14:34 which clearly state that as a woman, she is not allowed to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. But no, they like to pick the one verse in the Bible about gay people and build their camp around it.”
Proctor is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2010 census. Proctor is home to the Vermont Marble Museum and Wilson Castle.
Don’t you just love America? 😀
31 Comments
KingBey
July 16, 18:05Oochim
Pink Panther
July 16, 18:13The government is vexing. You do anyhow, you see anyhow. 🙂
Sinnex
July 16, 18:15This is just all shades of wrong.
Although, I am in support of the same sex marriage law and all, but I don’t think this is right.
The Church and State are different entities with laws and regulations. The state is not supposed to Interfere with the Church’s doctrine.
This is setting a very bad precedence and I hope the pastor wins the appeal case.
If it was a court clerk that refused to wed the couple, that would be understandable, but jailing a pastor….gosh, this so annoying.
No wonder people say US and Obama is the Anti Christ.
The Judge has just given homophobes the hammer to nail gays to the cross of condemnation.
Mandy
July 16, 18:28Sinnex, the church is registered to the state as a religious corporation. I think that makes them beholden to the State.
Fitzgerald
July 16, 18:22I actually do not think this is right, but since the church was registered as a for-business, I guess they’ll have to follow the law. But the jail term was unnecessary.
Mandy
July 16, 18:23This is where the religious right wingers will come to start crying for their right to practise religious restraint. But you know what? It’s the law. The sooner some of these Americans realize that, the better
Francis
July 16, 18:26Pinky you fall my hand BIG time. This is a hoax for crying out loud. When a gist sounds too f**king ridiculous. You check and recheck the source na.
I don vex tire yesterday for bloggers and Facebook friends that shared this mess
Pink Panther
July 16, 18:31LOL. You mean am? Choi. Oh well. I still hope such a pastor was jailed. 😀 Nonsense and ingredients. lol
Francis
July 16, 18:35@PP: Na wa oh. Na so you don hate them reach? To think you went to church recently sef .
Pink Panther
July 16, 18:38Hahahahahahahaaa!!! Didn’t you hear? I escaped from the church before I could burst into flames. 🙂
Francis
July 16, 18:44Lord of Vamps
Tiercel de Claron
July 16, 18:53So,because of your hatred for the Church,you put up a fake story that has been debunked on several blog.
And we claim we strive for acceptance and equality
Pink Panther
July 16, 19:03Jeezuz! My hatred for the church? Are u frigging kidding me? Don’t u lot ever get tired of carrying that chip on your shoulders? Even Francis who I was interacting with could see the humour in my comments. Honey, you need to rest your suspicion of my motives abeg, you and your cohorts. It’s gotten old.
Pink Panther
July 16, 19:04The update was a mistake. I realized that. And decided to roll with it.
Hatred for the church… LOL! Chai. I don suffer. See me that don’t even have time to hate on the mosquitoes that disturb me at night.
Tiercel de Claron
July 16, 19:07I call it as I see it,P.
And no,I don’t have cohorts.Unlike………
Pink Panther
July 16, 19:10Well, you need glasses. because what you see aint what it is.
Pink Panther
July 16, 19:11Or maybe it is. I really should start owning this my illuminati status.
Mandy
July 16, 19:19Pinky, how dare you post this…this…affront to the Church? Just wait! Angel Gadriel is coming for you.
Pink Panther
July 16, 19:20I’m quaking in my Louboutins shoes.
Tiercel de Claron
July 16, 19:30You hoped “such a pastor was jailed”.That’s what passes for humour to you?.I really would hate to come across your malevolence then.
Francis
July 16, 18:32The gay community needs to stop begging for acceptance from these homophobes and simply carry their money elsewhere.
What I would like to see sef is a law that forces businesses to clearly state whether they cater or not to gay people. Know the homophobes and avoid them.
I don’t understand why I would want to force someone to bake a freaking cake for my wedding. Like seriously? Why bring hate and possible food poisoning to what’s supposed to be a memorable joyful day?
#RantOver
Pink Panther
July 16, 18:41Yea actually, that part of your rant is right. If I wanted a wedding cake or a wedding planner service and I get denied, I’d probably just jejelly carry my business elsewhere. Get wedded first. and then come back for that homophobic fucker with a vengeance. 😀 Why interrupt my nuptials with a lawsuit?
D.
July 16, 19:12This is a FAKE NEWS ARTICLE, guys. Meant to stir up exactly this kind of bizarre mix of reactions. Seriously. Snopes.com is your friend for getting to the truth of rumor mill crap like this. You CAN’T BE JAILED FOR REFUSING TO WED GAYS IN A RELIGIOUS CEREMONY.
http://m.snopes.com/pastor-jailed-gay-marriage/
Mandy
July 16, 19:16Yea D. We already got the memo. lol
kacee
July 16, 19:33Mehn why should they jail the minister afterall there are other willing ministers who can wed the couple… na wa o. Ndi america.
Belcullen
July 16, 20:08Ahn dat aint right now. He shudnt be forced to wed dem in a church. Arresting the man is just too far. If they wanted to be so married dey wud have gone to court or sumfin. If they feel its against their religion they should not be forced to accept it.
ambivalentone
July 16, 20:54If not that y’all had concluded this was a fake, up until I saw ‘profit’, I was very sympathetic. I still cannot wrap my head around religious houses being business centres. Anyway, taking ur marriages to churches knowing full well the stand of religious organisations on homosexuality is like courting disaster. Anyone who does that is very devilish and a trouble maker.
Frankعnstein
July 16, 21:03Ummm… This was already here? . OK then! “These fanatical Christians base their life on one verse in the Bible but they
seem to forget the other 99% of the verses in the book. For example, why
can’t we stone to death Bristol Palinfor having a baby out of wedlock? And
what about her mother, Sarah Palin, breaking the rules ofCorinthians 14:34
which clearly state that as a woman, she is not allowed to teach or to assume
authority over a man; she must be quiet. But no, they like to pick the one
verse in the Bible about gay people and build their camp around it.”…… This comment is so true
Uziel
July 17, 05:38Okay. This is not cool. I guess this is what the right wing has been canvassing against. The church shouldn’t be forced to wed people they don’t want to. They have there own rules- as it concerns a couple who are already sexually active before marriage and when the girl is already pregnant. To force them to accept the ‘world’ – as they like to call it – is a little bit too, icky. The law has been passed. Great. You can get married at the courts and whatnot. But for now, maybe we should leave the conversation churches alone. Imagine a gay couple walking into Deeper Life, demanding to get married! Hehehe
Bob Hershgeer
September 07, 03:54The fact that he was arrested is totally false. He was not and was not jailed. This is a malicious attempt to discredit the equal rights for gays getting married. Here is a place you can get the truth. Check this link. http://m.snopes.com/pastor-jailed-gay-marriage/
Panther
September 07, 05:14Yea, we have already been apprised of that fact. 🙂