Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra: Evangelicals' Favorite Same-Sex Marriage Law?

Oklahoma follows Utah as latest example of why more church-state experts advise: If you can’t beat them, amend them.

ith federal judges in two highly conservative states striking down "defense of marriage" laws as unconstitutional this January, more church-state experts are advising same-sex marriage opponents that the marriage battleground should shift to religious freedom.

While the latest rulings in Oklahoma and Utah are on hold pending appeal (thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court), the most-recent states to legalize same-sex marriage—Hawaii and Illinois by state lawmakers, and New Jersey and New Mexico by state supreme courts—illustrate the differences between when lawmakers legalize same-sex marriage and when courts do.

In short, states where courts have ruled on same-sex marriage are "black hole" states where few or no specific religious protections are given, according to Robin Fretwell Wilson, a University of Illinois law professor who leads a group of legal scholars that advise lawmakers on religious exemptions. By contrast, she said, "There is not a single state that has accepted same-sex marriage [through legislation] where they haven't gotten a religious exemption." Keep reading