January 24, 2015

Oklahoma Republican, Todd Russ has proposed a bill that would require a religious official to sign off on the marriage certificate to make marriages legal. It's obvious that the Republican fundamentalists in one of the reddest states in the nation, harbor feelings of revulsion for same-sex marriage. Now, to avoid the same-sex marriage issue entirely, they are targeting atheists as well. Next to members of the LBGT community, atheists are the next most popular punching bag. There is not one atheist serving in Congress.

Under Russ's proposal, marriage certificates could be signed only by a religious official, who would then pass the certificate along to the clerk. Judges could no longer perform legal marriages.
While couples who didn’t have a religious official handy could still qualify for a common law marriage, this still means only church-sanctioned relationships could be legally, formally recognized.

Secular marriages outlawed? The government doesn't have the right to decide unions, according to Russ. “

Marriages are not supposed to be a government thing anyway,” he said Wednesday.
Russ, a credentialed Assemblies of God minister, is upset with rulings that have supported same-sex marriage.

Nothing speaks legitimacy and authority like a credentialed Assemblies of God Minister. You have to have a belief in divine mythology or your love for another person is invalid. Why must Red States like Oklahoma work tirelessly to hold onto antediluvian logic?

It's a matter of control. If you create exclusionary laws to sideline people who think differently from you, you can marginalize said groups, and do it legally. Simply look at highly religious states, and you'll find similarly high rates of bad health, gun violence and poverty.

Religion is a means of control. Just scare the population with threats of eternal damnation and you can keep them in check. If some people don't buy that ruse, these people cannot be manipulated, thus they pose a threat to megalomaniacs like Dominionists.

And their method for gaining "dominion" is through something called the "Seven Mountains Mandate," which seeks to place Christians at the top of seven distinct spheres that shape our culture: (1) Business; (2) Government; (3) Media; (4) Arts and Entertainment; (5) Education; (6) Family; and (7) Religion.

Oklahoma is essentially Dominionist Nirvana, where religion is the king of the mountain. Todd Russ is merely following his theological marching orders.

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