South Dakota Republicans have
introduced two bills which seek to allow clergy, church officials and
businesses to refuse to take part in gay marriages and related
events.
State Senator Ernie Otten said his
bills were necessary in case a court overturns the state's ban on
such unions.
The bills would allow clergy and
businesses to refuse to perform or supply goods or services to
same-sex marriages or receptions because of their religious beliefs.
“It's unconscionable that somebody
from the outside would come in and bring a family business to ruin
over activism,” Otten
told the AP.
The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Steve
Hickey, a Republican and a pastor of a Sioux Falls church, said he
worried that he could be sued over his religious beliefs.
“Religious rights need to continue to
trump gay rights,” Hickey said. “Otherwise, we're heading down
the road of Iran, where it's convert or die, be quiet or die. If we
want to talk about church and state, this is a bill that keeps the
state out of my church.”
Senator Angie Buhl O'Donnell, a
Democrat from Sioux Falls, launched a petition against the proposed
legislation.
The bill would allow “discriminatory
businesses to refuse service to the LGBT community,” O'Donnell's
petition reads. “We must stop SB 67 from becoming law.”