SS#3/SJR 39 - This proposed constitutional amendment, if approved by the qualified voters of this state, prohibits the state from imposing a penalty on a religious organization who acts in accordance with a sincere religious belief concerning same sex marriage, which includes the refusal to perform a same sex marriage ceremony or allow a same sex wedding ceremony to be performed on the religious organization's property. The state cannot penalize an individual who declines to provide goods of expressional or artistic creation for a wedding ceremony because of a sincere religious belief concerning same sex marriage.
Nothing in the resolution prevents the state from providing lawful marriage licenses or other marital benefits. The resolution also does not allow a hospital to refuse to treat a marriage as valid for the purposes of a spouse's right to visitation or to make health care decisions.
Persons protected by this resolution may use the law as a claim or defense in a legal proceeding regardless of whether the state is a party in the dispute.
This resolution is similar to HJR 96 and HJR 97 (2016).
JESSI BAKER