tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473858140424914604.post7762488591645581534..comments2023-11-03T04:53:35.869-04:00Comments on On the Record: Unwedding dayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473858140424914604.post-79023201248750558222007-10-31T12:52:00.000-04:002007-10-31T12:52:00.000-04:00The very preservation of religious ministers as ex...The very preservation of religious ministers as exclusive conductors of marriage ceremonies strikes me as offensive to constitutional values if not the constitution itself. Either a couple should be free to register their marriage by declaration at the courthouse - regardless of whether a minister or ceremony was ever involved or would be involved the next day, etc. - or any notary should be Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473858140424914604.post-2159005307827718602007-10-31T12:22:00.000-04:002007-10-31T12:22:00.000-04:00This ruling seems like a tremendous waste of judic...This ruling seems like a tremendous waste of judicial time. As an online ordainee who has presided over a wedding with 100-plus people in attendance, I think that decision only belongs in the hands of a bride and groom. It's what's in the hearts of the two people being wed that counts; not what kind of congregational clout the clergy has.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473858140424914604.post-6691729895462633572007-10-31T10:11:00.000-04:002007-10-31T10:11:00.000-04:00Leaving aside the entirely inappropriate intrusion...Leaving aside the entirely inappropriate intrusion of the state into religion and personal liberty, the potentially broader question might be whether a person has to have a congregation to be considered a legitimate pastor. That's a business matter. <BR/>When it comes to something as personal as who we marry and how we marry them, I say we get to tell the state how we want to do it, not the otherJeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04150295799271470039noreply@blogger.com