What Do Blueberries and Gay Weddings Have in Common?

Marriage, , ,

Recently we wrote about a family farm in Michigan barred from the local farmer’s market because the farmers declined to host a same-sex wedding on their property.

John Stonestreet with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview has authored a very brief commentary on this situation. He writes,

Folks, way back in 2010 Chuck Colson said that so-called “gay marriage” would, “spell the doom of religious freedom in America.” That’s being played out before our eyes in [Michigan] and elsewhere.

You can listen to Stonestreet’s full commentary below or read it here.

[audio:http://breakpoint.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TPT506072017.mp3|titles=What Do Blueberries and Gay Weddings Have in Common? Nothing.]

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Farmers Punished For Holding Biblical View of Marriage

Religious Freedom, , , ,

A family farm in Michigan is being blocked from their community’s city-run farmer’s market, because the Tennes family who owns the farm happens to hold a biblical view of marriage.

Family Research Council writes,

When two women asked to be married on [Country Mill farm] in 2014, the Tennes turned them down, explaining that because of their faith, they referred same-sex couples to neighboring farms. Two years later, the couple decided to launch a social media smear campaign, urging people to stay away from Country Mill. When their post was brought to East Lansing’s attention, local leaders raced to pass an ordinance directly targeting small business owners like the Tenneses.

Country Mill Farms has participated in the city’s farmer’s market without incident for at least six years. As a result of this new ordinance, the farm was blocked from selling produce at the market this year.

It’s worth noting this is not the first time a family farm has been punished for holding a biblical view of marriage. In 2014 a New York farm was fined $13,000 for declining to host a same-sex wedding ceremony on its property.

No one should be targeted by the government for their religious convictions, but that’s what we are seeing here. Country Mill Farms has teamed up with attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom to take East Lansing to court over its new policy. Hopefully, this new policy will be reversed and religious liberty will be respected.

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U of A Polling Shows Arkansans Still Oppose Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage

Abortion, Marriage, , , , , ,

This week the University of Arkansas released its annual Arkansas Poll for 2016. The poll examines Arkansans’ social and political views as well as approval of elected officials.

This year’s poll found Arkansans’ views have changed very little on, among other things, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Since 2015, 46% of Arkansans have said it ought to be more difficult to get an abortion; only 13% said it ought to be easier.

This confirms polling from other sources that has consistently found Americans oppose late-term abortion and believe abortion ought to be illegal in some or all circumstances.

Even though the U.S. Supreme Court nullified state marriage laws nationwide with its Obergefell decision in 2015, 57% of Arkansans still think same-sex marriage should not be recognized.

The numbers go up when the responses are narrowed to likely voters, with 48% of likely voters opposing abortion and 60% opposing same-sex marriage.

You can read the poll summary here.

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