Amid concerns that a holy smiting may be imminent, a county in Tennessee is considering the passage of a resolution officially “petitioning God’s mercy” for being forced to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
If enacted, a resolution scheduled to go for consideration during Tuesday’s meeting of the Blount County Commission formally requests that God, “pass us by in His Coming Wrath and not destroy our County as He did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities. As the Passover Lamb was a means of salvation to the ancient Children of Israel, so we stand upon the safety of the Lamb of God to save us.”
The resolution is the work of Commissioner Karen Miller, who argues in the bill that, “federal judges have once again usurped powers not delegated to them, and have violated Reason, the Rule of Law and Natural Law by purporting to strike down State laws and acts of the People recognizing and protecting Natural Marriage.”
Earlier this U.S. Supreme Court issued a historic 5-4 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. While the decision was hailed by the LGBT community and its straight allies, the ruling has not been without controversy. Most notably, Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, became a lightning rod of international controversy when she was briefly sent to jail for refusing to comply with the high court’s decision.
While the resolution is non-binding, God will be legally allowed to smite whoever he wants even if it passes, the deliberative process is all but certain to be extremely contentious.
The Daily Times reports that local LGBT groups, such as the Tennessee Equality Project, are planning to make a showing at the meeting to protest the legislation. “Being a resident of the county, it’s just shocking,” Tennessee Equality Project Chair Gwen Schablik told the Times. “You just can’t pick one religious view and let it dictate marriage laws for everyone. In our county, there are same-sex couples, there are same-sex families. The law should protect them.”
The resolution concludes: “We adopt this resolution begging His favor in light of the fact that we have been forced to comply and recognize that the State of Tennessee, like so many other God-fearing States, [sic] MAY have fallen prey to a lawless judiciary in legalizing what God and the Bible expressly forbids.”
H/T Huffington Post | Photo via God the Father 21/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
