2013: Marriage Marred

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (BP) -- Walmart will offer health benefits for married and unmarried same-sex partners of all full-time employees in the United States starting in January, the nation's largest private employer has announced.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Obama administration has begun making certain legally married same-sex couples will reap benefits from a historic ruling earlier this summer by the U.S. Supreme Court.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The North American Mission Board has [QUOTE@right@180=For podcast about the new chaplain guidelines click here.]issued new guidelines for Southern Baptist military chaplains in light of the U.S. military's recognition of same-sex marriage. The guidelines reiterate Southern Baptist doctrine and the expectation that SBC chaplains will not participate in or attend wedding ceremonies for gay members of the military.

ALBUQUERQUE (BP) -- An attack on religious liberty is evident in the New Mexico Supreme Court's ruling that two Christian photographers violated the state's Human Rights Act by refusing to photograph a same-sex "commitment ceremony," according to several Southern Baptist commentators.

SANTA FE, N.M. (BP) -- The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday (Aug. 22) that two Christian photographers who declined to photograph a same-sex union violated the state's Human Rights Act.

SAN ANTONIO (BP) -- Due to a perceived slight against homosexuality, Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk is in a fight for his career. The point of contention reportedly is not about anything Monk said, but what he refused to say.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- "We are proud of you. You are heroes to Southern Baptists." [QUOTE@left@180=Religious freedom issues are on the rise in light of changes in military policy and key court rulings.]Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, spoke those words to about 55 Southern Baptist senior military chaplains from across the armed services during a conference call that included Russell D. Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Doug Carver, the retired Army major general who leads NAMB's chaplaincy efforts. "We wanted to hear from them about the challenges they are facing in their ministry and ways we can better help and support them in the important work they are doing," Ezell said after the session on Thursday, Aug. 8. Recent months have brought challenges on many fronts as chaplains face navigating their ministry in light of the military's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the U.S. Supreme Court's abolishment of the Defense of Marriage Act and other religious freedom issues facing chaplains and members of the military. The decisions and changes mean chaplains might be asked to perform marriages for same-sex couples as well as counseling, marriage retreats and funerals. There are also concerns about whether military chaplains will be able to quote certain Scripture passages without facing disciplinary action for offending homosexuals. "Those of you serving in the military are at the front wave of what we are eventually going to be facing all over this country," Moore told the chaplains. "You are going to be dealing with some things that every community in the United States will be dealing with in a few short years." The NAMB chaplaincy team that Carver leads regularly communicates with the 1,434 Southern Baptist chaplains who serve the U.S. military around the globe. "For the last few months we have dealt with numerous issues regarding religious liberty," Carver said. "To date and to the best of my knowledge in all three components of the services, we have had no chaplains who have left as a result of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell or the Defense of Marriage Act and we have none who have been charged or punished as a result of their beliefs."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The battle over gay marriage in the United States continues unabated, with activists on both sides engaging in the courts, media and government.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Gay marriage became legal in Minnesota and Rhode Island after both legislatures approved the unions, extending gay marriage to 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Despite disappointing rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, Missouri Baptist leader John Yeats identifies eight things the justices will never have the authority to change.