What is “promotion of marriage through religious counseling programs, courses, [or] retreats”?
This seems much less problematic to me, so long as the “through” phrase defines and limits the term “promotion.” If that is the case, this activity should be protected already through both the free speech and free exercise of religion clauses of the First Amendment. Will this exemption affect employment? On the face of it, the language seems unrelated to employment issues, unless a job-related benefit falls within “services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges.” However, every state law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment has a religious exemption of some sort, so these questions would presumably be covered by that other state law. What is the scope of “penalize or withhold benefits”? Specifically, can a government agency withdraw its contracts with a social services or health care provider, if that entity refuses to include same-sex married couples eligible for whatever services it provides to married couples? What if the con
