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Deadline Approaches to Pass Ohio Bill That Will Protect Pastors

CBN

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An Ohio bill known as the "Pastor Protection Act" has cleared a state House committee, but lawmakers are uncertain if there is enough time to pass the legislation before the end of the year.

H.B. 286 protects pastors from punishment if they decline to officiate a wedding that is deemed unbiblical or don't allow their church buildings to be used for such ceremonies.

"No ordained or licensed minister … or religious society … is required to solemnize a marriage that does not conform to the ordained or licensed minister's or religious society's sincerely held religious beliefs,"  reads part of the bill introduced by Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana.

"No religious society is required to allow any building or property of the religious society to be used to host a marriage ceremony for a marriage that does not conform to the religious society's sincerely held religious beliefs," it continued.

The bill states that those who decline their services because of their religious beliefs are "immune from civil or criminal liability and neither the state nor a political subdivision of the state shall penalize or withhold any benefit or privilege from the ordained or licensed minister or religious society, including any governmental contract, grant, or license."

"This is not an issue of discrimination," Vitale remarked when he introduced the bill in July. "It is an issue of protection; protection for those who have committed their lives to the service of God and their community."

The House Community and Family Advancement Committee approve the bill 9-4, which allows it to move forward to the full House. However, the measure has until Dec. 8 to clear both the House and the Senate or it will be reintroduced next year.

 

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