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Methodist-run campground nixes same-sex ceremony request, rewarded with complaint

Two homosexual women have filed a civil rights complaint against a Methodist-run campground in New Jersey that refused to host a same-sex union ceremony. State law prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation.



The women want to use part of the Ocean Grove Campground, a seaside retreat, founded by Methodists in 1869, as a setting for their same-sex union. They requested use of a boardwalk pavilion that is used primarily for worship-oriented events. The facility's board of trustees denied the request, citing official church policy, which does not recognize same-sex unions.

Mark Tooley with the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD) believes it should be a "very interesting" legal case.

"If the lesbian couple were to successfully use New Jersey law to force the Methodist campground to host a same-sex ritual, obviously, that would have very disturbing repercussions in terms of religious liberty," Tooley points out.

"It certainly illustrates how vast the problems are, not only with civil union laws, but perhaps even more so with so-called 'discrimination based on sexual orientation' laws, which to many people sound very benign," he observes. As Tooley notes, "no one wants to say that they are in favor of what's defined as discrimination, but really have much more wide-ranging repercussions than most people have given thought to."

In a printed statement, the IRD spokesman urges all people -- Methodists or otherwise -- who are concerned about religious and civil liberty to speak out in defense of Ocean Grove. "[This] controversy," he states, "is yet another example of how pleas for 'tolerance' too often morph into new and insidious forms of intolerance."

If New Jersey officials find that the women have a legitimate complaint, a judge will be appointed to the case.

If the campground is private property, the women would have no ground, ;)  to stand on.  :D

There are numerous campgrounds in this vicinity and many of them are secular in nature and would have no problem with such a ceremony being held there. Notice though that these women pick the only one that is run by a church. It is quite evident what their agenda is.