TALLAHASSEE — Legislation designed to shield religious leaders from being targeted for refusing to perform same-sex marriages won a House panel's approval Wednesday, but only after clergy members spoke vehemently for and against the bill.
Opponents of the bill say it's unnecessary since the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects religious freedom, with some going so far as to say it smacks of anti-gay discrimination.
"I'm really concerned about the overt premise of this bill ... which seems to be that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are to be feared," said the Rev. Brant Copeland of the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee. "I find that premise very disturbing and inaccurate."
The measure, HB 43, passed along party lines, with nine Republicans voting in favor and the four Democrats on the House Civil Justice subcommittee voting no.
For supporters, the bill is essential to protect clergy members' consciences and houses of worship from being legally targeted. The country is moving too swiftly in the direction of protections for same-sex couples, they say, which could lead to the trampling of the rights of those refusing to perform same-sex weddings.
Bill sponsor Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, said pastors need more protection in the law to guard against lawsuits from gay-rights groups and from being penalized by bureaucracies that might levy tax penalties or withhold grants or contract bids from churches that don't participate in same-sex nuptials.
"This extra layer of protection can do no harm, and it might do some good," Plakon said.
He is backed by other lawmakers in Central Florida — including co-sponsor Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Altamonte Springs, who has said Hispanic pastors brought similar concerns to him — but also by a group of pastors from the Orlando area.
Pastor Greg Squires of the Freedom Life Church in Kissimmee said the bill is needed to prevent lawsuits, and the religious-freedom protection of the First Amendment can vary case by case.
"That just depends upon the person who's ruling on the moment and how they see things," Squires said.
The bill was filed in reaction to the landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in June that legalized same-sex marriages throughout the nation. That decision has social conservatives and some church leaders on edge.
John Stemberger, president of the Orlando-based Florida Family Policy Council, is conducting a series of meetings with pastors and clergy throughout the state attempting to address their concerns.
Those concerns, Stemberger said, include whether they will have to allow their churches to be used for same-sex weddings even if they aren't performing the ceremony and what their obligations are if an employee gets a sex change. He advises churches to include theological reasoning for their decisions in their bylaws.
"We don't know how long pastors are going to be protected in Florida," Stemberger said.
Carlos Guillermo-Smith, an LGBT rights activist with Equality Florida who's running for the House in eastern Orange County, said fears of gay-rights groups targeting churches with litigation are overblown. He pledged that Equality Florida would help pay the legal bills for any church sued for not marrying same-sex couples.
"We know that's not going to happen," Guillermo-Smith said. "This is an imagined problem."
The Senate version of the bill, SB 110, is yet to be heard in that chamber and the House version has one more committee stop before heading to the floor. The Legislature convenes for its regular session in January.
During the nearly two hour-long hearing, lawmakers were reminded their votes were being watched by someone other than proponents and opponents.
"God is really looking at us and saying, 'What are my people doing?'" said Pastor Olden Reese of the FLE Ministry in Miami Gardens.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
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