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Church group sues
over same-sex
civil union ceremony
By REBECCA SANTANA,
AP from newsday.com from the Web, August 13, 2007
TRENTON, N.J. -- A New Jersey
church group is suing the state over whether the organization should be required
to allow a lesbian couple to hold a civil union ceremony at a beachfront
pavilion owned by the group.
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist group, says its rights are
being violated by a state investigation into its decision to reject the couple's
application.
The group also says that by finding enough reason to investigate the complaint,
the state's Division on Civil Rights is threatening to prosecute the group in
order to force it to allow such ceremonies to take place.
The group said it rejected the application because the church does not recognize
same-sex unions.
"Religious groups have the right to make their own decisions without government
interference. The government can't force a private Christian organization
to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs," said
Brian Raum, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the
association.
The couple, Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster of Ocean Grove, applied in March
to rent the pavilion for a Sept. 30 ceremony.
After their application was rejected and their $75 deposit returned, the couple
said they contacted the association's president, who told them the facility
could not be used for civil union ceremonies.
The couple filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights,
saying the rejection was a violation of the state's law against discrimination.
They asked the division to require the association to allow the ceremony to take
place.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, the organization said if the group were to allow
civil union ceremonies for same-sex couples to take place, it would constitute
approval of such unions. The lawsuit also says the state's investigation
has forced the association to limit use of the pavilion for weddings out of fear
of prosecution.
The association wants to make sure they will not be forced by the state to allow
their buildings and facilities to be used in a way that violates their religious
beliefs.
In a statement, Lee Moore, a spokesman for the state's attorney general,
described the lawsuit as "premature," saying the division hasn't come to any
conclusion about the case.
"To date, the Division on Civil Rights has asserted nothing beyond its right to
initiate an investigation to determine whether there has been a violation of the
law against discrimination," Moore said.
Moore said it was the first investigation to deal with the issue of where a
civil union ceremony could be performed since the civil unions legislation
became law. He said the state had previously received two complaints
having to do with receiving job benefits.
Bernstein, one of the women who wanted to use the pavilion, said she and her
partner had been in discussions, mediated by the division, with the association
to resolve the matter. She said it appeared as if a settlement was within reach
until Monday's lawsuit was announced.
Bernstein said that in the past, the pavilion has been used for civil wedding
ceremonies as well as for people of all faiths to get married. She said it's
also used for concerts and impromptu gatherings.
"In an apparent distortion of the First Amendment, they are claiming that they
have the right to discriminate against people who do not share their religious
tenets," she said.
The association said it uses the pavilion for a variety of programs such as a
Sunday morning worship service and a bible school class, and has rented the
pavilion for wedding ceremonies. When the pavilion is not in use, members
of the public are allowed to sit and rest in it to escape the sun or rain.
However, the association said members of the public using the pavilion are
always required to follow the association's rules. (Abridged)
newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--civilunions0813aug13,0,7917408.story
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