Louisiana’s state senators today refused to enact a new law declaring that pastors and churches don’t have to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies or allow them in their facilities.
The Associated Press reports the Senate Judiciary B Committee voted 3-2 to shelve House Bill 597, also known as the “Pastor Protection Act,” which had the overwhelming support of the House.
Opponents of the bill by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, said current law offers the protections outlined in the bill, making the measure unnecessary. Johnson described the proposal as “harmless” and narrowly tailored to protect people’s religious beliefs.
However, he couldn’t provide an example of a minister or clergy in Louisiana encountering any impediments to practice their beliefs.
“There hasn’t been a recent case. That’s a good thing,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said he wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen, and his proposal would further define the protections for clergy to practice their “sincerely held” beliefs.
Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, said the bill seemed like a “knee-jerk reaction” to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage. He said similar arguments were made after a high-court decision invalidated laws that banned interracial marriage five decades ago.
“My father once told me that, regardless of how you feel about something, you should never put discrimination in law. I feel like when I look at your bill we’re putting discrimination in law,” Morrell said.
In his introduction, Johnson, who is running for Congress, told senators the legislation had nothing to do with business or tourism and didn’t draw the type of criticism from those industry sectors that more broadly written bills received in other states.
But Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, testified against the proposal today, saying he was concerned about the message it would send to businesses. He described it as a “very damaging bill” that could cost the state millions, citing backlash in other states on religious-objections bills.
“Louisiana’s brand right now is seen as more progressive than many of our Southern states,” Perry said.
