The Texas "Pastor Protection" Bill Is Just Political Theater

(This image of a pastor performing a same-sex wedding is by Adithya Sambamurthy and was found at cirnoline.org.)

The Texas legislature, in its imminent lack of wisdom, has passed a new bill -- and the governor is expected to sign it into law. It is called the "Pastor Protection Act", and its purpose is to insure that no pastor will be forced to perform a same-sex wedding if it goes against their religious beliefs. The law has a couple of exceptions -- if the pastor has a for-profit business open to the public (like a Wedding Chapel) or the pastor holds a government office (like Justice of the Peace).

This bill accomplishes absolutely NOTHING! No pastor is currently forced to perform any wedding they don't wish to perform (except for the two reasons listed above -- acting as a businessman or a government official), and a Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex weddings would not change that. In fact, many pastors already exercise this religious freedom (refusing to perform marriages for many reasons). They refuse because of age, race, religion, and sexual preference -- and that is not going to change. The religious freedom provision of the U.S. Constitution protects this.

And no one wants that changed. There are plenty of loving ministers willing to perform same-sex marriages -- as well as businesses and government officials.

So, why did the legislature pass this bill, since it accomplishes nothing? The answer is that it was just an exercise in political theater. They know the bill changes nothing -- but they also know it will play well to the ignorant bigots opposed to same-sex weddings, and will give the appearance that they have done something to further that bigotry. It is propaganda designed to insure right-wing Republicans can get re-elected -- especially those in districts full of evangelicals and teabaggers.