LGBTQIA+ individuals still find it difficult to find marriage officiants to this day

The fight for same sex marriage was a new civil rights following in the steps of the civil right movement. Despite the movement starting back as early as 1990, in almost 25 years, all 50 states in the US now allow same sex weddings. But even though marriage was deemed a fundamental right by the supreme court, prejudice against same sex couples still exists. And nowhere is that prejudice more apparent than with wedding officiants in OKC for LGBTQIA+ marriages.

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LGBTQ++ People Still Face Discrimination, Even with Wedding Officiants OKC

Prejudice against the LGBTQ++ community seems to be a never-ending battle. Despite various laws protecting the rights of the community, they have still faced discrimination in all walks of life. In fact, there are plenty of cases where wedding officiants Oklahoma City refuse to offer their services to a same sex couple. Whether it was due to personal beliefs or religious ones, these vendors did not want to work with homosexual couples.

Even wedding photographers OKC and wedding videographers in Oklahoma can straight out refuse to covering same sex weddings.

One of the most recent examples of such discrimination was when a couple in Bonita Springs Florida, were refused officiating services from the Anytime Wedding Chapel. When they called to confirm a date and to plan their nuptials, the representative on the other line blatantly said that they were not looking to officiate same sex weddings.

So even though this is not a common practice among wedding officiant Oklahoma, especially in Edmond, it still happens often enough to be concerning. And in the case of the anytime wedding chapel, they have been refusing to serve LGBTQ++ weddings for a long time now.

The Tennessee Ordination Bill

Other than more direct conflicts with gay couples, there are also some that are looking to threaten the way that these ceremonies take place. Due to past experiences that people have with wedding vendors, or due to other people’s experiences with wedding vendors, couples will sometimes opt for online ordained officiants. Family members or friends will usually go through an online ordination course to either be more involved in the ceremony or at the request of the couple.

Not only does this reduce the risk of being turned down or experiencing prejudice discrimination at the event, but it is also completely legal. And the latter part is what some people are really having trouble with, specifically, Tennessee lawmakers.

Tennessee passed a bill that would limit the individuals who could solemnize a marriage. The bill allowed any member of the Tennessee general assembly to solemnize a marriage in the state. But it no longer allows individuals who have been ordained online.

And even though legislators were saying that this was a more “permissive” law, many believed that this was a purposeful wrench thrown into the gears of same sex marriages. People who were ordained online were usually doing so for social reasons.

Some were members of the LGBTQ++ community who were looking to support people struggling to get married. Others wanted to learn about other ceremonies in different faiths, and some wanted to officiate weddings outside of their faith.

But regardless of why people were being ordained online, everyone felt an uneasiness after this bill passed. And everyone collectively felt like this was happening to stifle the growth of same sex marriages.

The Difficulty in Finding Marriage Officiants in Oklahoma City

The US Supreme Court tore down all laws banning same-sex marriage throughout all fifty states. The court saw that marriage was an equal right to all citizens according to the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause. However, getting married without an OKC wedding officiant also means that the state does not legally recognize the wedding. Fortunately, times have changed, and members of the community are not as disenfranchised as before when looking for wedding officiants Oklahoma City, or wedding venues in OKC.

More members of the LGBTQ++ community are coming into the wedding business and are offering marriage officiant OKC services. Furthermore, even wedding officiants Oklahoma who held on to their beliefs were unable to deny same sex couples for too long.

It’s simply not good for a wedding photographer Oklahoma, for example, to deny their services to a member of the LGBTQ community, especially with how quickly news can spread. Not only do these wedding venues Oklahoma lose valuable customers, but they usually lose in court as well. These wedding videographers Oklahoma have a civic duty to offer their services to everyone, and them choosing to not do so counts as discrimination.

The Case of Sweet Cakes in Portland, Oregon

One of the most infamous cases of businesses refusing to serve gay couples came from Aaron Klein. Klein runs a small shop called Sweet Cakes in Portland, Oregon, where he refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Granted, the initial backlash following the incident was a little extreme, especially since the owner did receive hate mail and death threats for his refusal.

Furthermore, his business was picketed and his sales went down by half. And when the case for his dismissal reached court, he lost. The court found the Klein guilty of discriminating against customers, regardless of his religious beliefs. The court even fined him for $135,000 as well.

It goes to show that despite the intolerance that people are showing towards certain customers, the only ones to suffer in the long run are businesses.

Finding the Right Wedding Officiant

While it isn’t uncommon for members of the LGBTQ++ community to face discrimination from wedding officiants Oklahoma city, there are still plenty of businesses out there looking to help these individuals with their special occasions. Same sex couples can find plenty of Wedding Officiants in OKC who would love to host their wedding.

So if you are looking for wedding officiants in OKC, then Lifelong Wedding ceremonies can offer you just what you need. Dr. Makayla Saramosing and Dr. Tinsley Keefe offer all sorts of OKC wedding officiant services that you would need including different wedding venues in OKC. They can even provide a wedding photographer Oklahoma City and wedding videographer Oklahoma.

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