Advocates of natural marriage, including U.S. Senate candidate Matt Bevin, have taken lots of heat for criticizing the federal court ruling which overturned much of the Commonwealth's marriage law. Erick Erickson put the issue into focus by differentiating refusal to serve somebody because of their sexual orientation and refusal to participate in a ceremony which orthodox Christians consider a sacrament. Erickson says:
"Some […], believe the government should compel the latter group to violate their conscience. They only see the transaction through the customer’s eyes as if the vendors are passive participants.
That’s the problem.
We are not talking about race. We are not talking about restaurants. We are talking about a specific ceremony people of faith believe God himself created and ordained. Should the state force people to violate their conscience in that regard?
It is not staggering that there are aggrieved gay rights activists who think the state should be able to force people to recognize as normal that which most Christians view as sinful. What is staggering is the number of Christians who apparently think the State has the right to decide and enforce this issue."