Saturday’s Hartford Courant reports:
Concerned that the state’s new same-sex marriage law would infringe on religious liberties, the Connecticut Catholic Conference today proposed some broad exemptions which it believes are necessary to protect those rights.
The law does not require Catholic priests—or any other clergy member—to preside over same-sex weddings.
However, the church is seeking additional exemptions. For instance, it wants to ensure that a florist opposed to gay marriage on religious grounds not be forced to sell flowers to a same-sex couple.
As my brother (who is straight but has a sense of humor) said to me, though, “Does anyone really believe that there are any florists who are opposed to gay marriage?”
(H/T, David Hart at Pam’s.)
I’d have to agree with your brother, and probably even go a step further: I suspect florists are more likely to object to the Catholic church than to gay marriage.