Reply #20: Not at all so. [View All]

[TheMadMonk]

AFAIK the Church may refuse to employ a gay person. Or at the very least won't get it's arse legally handed it to on a platter if it's smart enough to offer up a half way plausible excuse for not employing that person.

This law simply forbids the Church from applying gender discrimination (or any other form of discrimination) in any secular matter in which the Church is a voluntary participant.

This is no different than the already accepted principle that whilst the church may refuse communion (or any of the other sacrements to a gay person), it MAY NOT (in general) refuse to treat a gay person, an unmarried mother or remarried divorcee, in one of its hospitals.

If it does hire a gay employee (presumably in a secular position) then it must indeed extend exactly the same secular benefits to that employee's partner as it does to the civily recognise (including common law) partners of any other employees.

If it rents/hires out its property, it is acting as a secular landlord and as such it may not refuse to rent any property solely on the basis of the renter's gender orrientation. Thus as per the example, yes if the property is available for rent then it can not stop a lesbian support group from renting if they stump up the cash. However, the exemptions in this proposed law still gives it an out such that it MAY refuse to rent out a hall for the purpose of holding a gay marriage ceremony because that is in part a spirtual matter, but not for the reception that follows.