With the supreme court expected to rule by the end of the month on whether same-sex marriage is legal, many Christian evangelicals say they will refuse to obey a decision allowing gay unions.
The Defend Marriage pledge, signed by more than 50,000 people, is one of a series of measures launched by social conservatives. Notable signers of the pledge include 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.
Santorum recently pursued a similar line of reasoning when he told NBC he would fight a court decision which legalised same-sex marriage.
“I don’t advocate civil disobedience,” the former US senator from Pennsylvania said. “I do advocate the role of an informed citizen to try to overturn when a court makes a mistake and gets an issue wrong.”
Likening the case to that of the issue of abortion rights, he added: “Of course I’d fight it. Roe v Wade was decided 30-something years ago [in fact 1973, 42 years ago] and I continue to fight it because the court got it wrong.”
Rick Scarborough, a prominent Baptist pastor in Texas and one of the authors of the pledge, said: “The justices are not always right, and this is clearly a case that finds a right that is not in the constitution, and we will not be able to respect that ruling.”
Scarborough said those who signed the petition would resist all government efforts to require them to accept gay marriage. He said some, including himself, would accept any fine, arrest or even jail time to protect their religious freedom.
“We respectfully warn the supreme court not to cross this line,” he said.
Republican state lawmakers in recent months have introduced a raft of bills targeting gay marriage and gay rights amid expectations that the top US court will find a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, which is now legal in 36 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
But of the 55 bills in 21 states that could have some bearing on gay marriage, the vast majority have failed to become law, indicating that any backlash to a supreme court ruling in favour of gay marriage could be limited.
In April, Huckabee came to the defence of a proposed “anti-discrimination” bill in Indiana which prompted a fierce backlash for its perceived discrimination against same-sex couples.
“There’s been more pressure this week to put sanctions on Indiana than Iran,” the former Arkansas governor said, referring to the Obama administration’s controversial deal regarding the Islamic Republic’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The Defend Marriage pledge was launched in March. It says it is God’s will to have marriage being only between a man and a woman.
“We affirm that marriage and family have been inscribed by the Divine Architect into the order of Creation. Marriage is ontologically between one man and one woman,” it says.
Same-sex marriage has been a tricky issue for Republican candidates with evangelicals a powerful force in determining the party’s presidential nominee in 201 – Santorum, popular with evangelical voters, won Iowa in 2012 and ultimately finished second to eventual candidate Mitt Romney. But in the general election, a stance against gay unions could prove costly with polls showing a majority of Americans support them.
Some of the other signers are ready to launch a civil disobedience campaign, including trying to block county clerk offices that issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Scarborough likened the fight to the campaign for civil rights launched more than a half-century ago by Martin Luther King Jr.
Adam Talbot of the Human Rights Campaign, at the forefront of the fight for gay marriage, said the comparison with King is blatantly wrong. King, he said, fought for all Americans to be treated equally.
“It is deeply sad that a radical and small group of folks are so enraged by other people’s happiness and legal equality that they are willing to plant their feet on the wrong side of history,” Talbot said.
