The pertinent law here is not the First Amendment to the US Constitution. That one states that Congress shall make no law respecting a religion or restricting the free exercise thereof. The City of Coeur de'Alene is not Congress. The pertinent law is Idaho's statute, the "Free Exercise of Religion Protected Act." If it protects their religious beliefs in operating their wedding business, then they will win. If it does not, they will lose. To bring the Federal law and courts into this dispute is a denial of State sovereignty and a real violation of the Constitution. This is a case that should be decided in the State and not in the Federal courts, since it concerns whether the city has made a law that violates State law or not. Congress cannot and should not make laws that protect one religion over another and cases that do not involve Federal laws should not be decided by the Feds.

'The Christians are an evil lot. Remember the Crusades.'
So say my Muslim friends.

Any church, or minister, priest, etc,. has the right to refuse to marry anyone, even members of their own faith if they do not meet the accepted requirements for marriage in the faith.
The gay libs, with the help of our sexually confused administration have attained a preferential status in America.
They are demanding services of religious minded people, groups and institutions simply to push their weight around because our government encourages such actions, for their own nefarious reasons.
Unconitutional privileges are bestowed upon them in many areas where they would not have been considered in the past. They take advantage now by demanding to have their way, giving no regard to the beliefs, practices and standards of moral conduct that others live by. The important question here is: how far are we willing to let the government continue to give preferential treatment to certain minority groups?
This is another tactic of the government to pit Americans against each other, and Obama's chance to humiliate those of Christian belief. Ironic, since we were all fed that huge story of how he, Obama was a Christian when he was running for office and in his early presidency. Up until possibly 6 mos. ago, there was someone who claimed to be Obama's 'spiritual' advisor or such, who was on FNC attesting to the fact that Obama was definitely a Christian.

What the hell are you talking about?
preaching the word of God in a Christian church is religious and government does not have the authority to interfere regardless of what the preaching is about!
It has nothing to do with discrimination because they are not telling anyone they cannot belong to the church be cause the are homosexuals, they re preaching what God has said about homosexuality!
You liberals are moron's, if it doesn't agree with the way you think, you want to tell other people what they can believe and say!

Actually you have apparently gotten on the wrong story because this one is about government trying tell pastors what they can preach from the pulpit!
the last time I checked, Churches were none profit organization that dealt in religions matters and are therefore under the freedom of religion clause of the 1st amendment to the United States Constitution which government is forbidden to interfere with!
the speech clause of the first amendment also applies!
You should check out the facts before you show your ignorance by posting such ridiculous assertions!

Although the facts are pretty much as laid out, I just can't agree that this is indicative of criminalizing Christian behavior. What we have is a couple who chose to register their business as a business, thus subjecting themselves to the laws regarding public accommodations. Their public accommodation is, however, an extension of their religious practice. A carve out for religious entities would not apply to them.

So, they have four choices. One is to comply with the law. That, of course, is untenable. A second it to take their licks. That is equally untenable. A third is to change the way they are organized, so they are no longer a for-profit entity. I don't know that that is actually possible. The fourth is to sue, in hopes of having their special situation recognized as a needed exception to the law.

This is what they have done. Personally, I think they have a good chance of winning. The irony is that any judge who agrees with them will thereby be an activist judge, the bane of the conservative's existence.

So you're comparing same sex marriage to the Shogunate forcing
Christians to choose between stepping on an image of Christ in order to
live or choose to die.Hardly the same thing. Jesuit priests were
welcomed, at least to a degree, in Japan until they started to
increasingly meddle in Japanese society and attempted to do the same
with the Shogunate.The actions of Jesuits is one of the primary reasons why the Shogunate ordered Japan's borders to be closed until Commodore Perry sailed to Japan and threatened the country unless its borders were opened and the emperor was restore to power. The subsequent pressure and rush to assimilate into and adapt to the outside influences, particularly Western cultures and mores, was a leading factor in Japan's imperialism. None of which is to say that I condone forcing people to make a decision like this, let alone killing them for their choice of religion.

First, this couple owns a business. Their product is a marriage ceremony. They are not ministers in a church. Business owners obtain a license and the obligations to operate under any and all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including public accommodation laws.I wouldn't make a Christian perform my wedding because I want it to be as good as it can be, but that's my personal attitude, not law.

Second, this incident is a fabrication. No complaints have been filed against this couple for refusing to marry a same sex couple. They have not been arrested or jailed, nor are they facing fines. This couple has had language pertaining to what they offer on their website altered within the past few weeks. There are screen caps and Google cache pages to show this. I imagine also the Internet Archives have preserved pages though I haven't checked myself.

Third, at no point did I excuse or condone the long past actions of Japan's Shogunate against Japanese Christian converts centuries ago. I simply provided more context than you did in your comment about fumi-e. If those Jesuit priests hadn't tried to meddle in Japanese society and the Shogunate then Christianity might have flourished back then.
They didn't. It didn't. People died who shouldn't have died.

You might want to check your ego for a persecution complex.

Oh, please. The story is made up. You've been manipulated. I'm sorry, but you were. Good day to you.

You're asking the wrong person for an apology.

Standing for Christ isn't for the weak...it's time we act like "men and women of faith" and with hearts of Lions "stand"...our founding fathers gave us a great country with a great set of laws called the Constitution...if we can keep it!

You're exactly right.

That is the problem with the government inventing a Constitutional 'right' for homosexuals to 'marry.' In doing so, the government has essentially obliterated Christians' first amendment protection of religious freedom, and thirteenth amendment protection against involuntary servitude.

Ah, but homos get special rights to use the police power of government to force people to violate their religious beliefs and personal convictions by insisting on being 'married' by those they know disagree with their lifestyle choice. It kind of reminds me of a child who does something wrong, and is forced against his will to apologize. He doesn't really mean it; he just says the words to avoid punishment. Which begs the question - why do homos insist on enlisting people who do not celebrate or agree with their choice, to participate in their ceremony? Why wouldn't they want a willing, eager official to 'say the words', rather someone who has been coerced and doesn't mean them? Why seek out people who they know will turn them down? Hmm...

The couple could have gotten "married" at the courthouse instead of trying to force a pair of ministers to go against their faith. Problem solved.

You mean when having dark skin was a lifestyle choice rather than a matter of birth?

Look to the 2nd amendment. What's happening today is why our wise Founding Fathers gave it to us.

I realize you're ignorant about our history but if you have someone read an American History book to you you'll find that the Minutemen resorted to a little violence themselves. If you or anyone else, including your God,Obama, doesn't like the Constitution he can move back to Kenya and take you with him.

Why don't you go and explain that to the thugs that call themselves ISIS,ISIL whatever. I'm sure they will put down their be-heading swords and start having ideas instead. Also, if you ever get attacked by a diseased scumbag that came across the border illegally just tell him to get an idea. That will stop him dead in his tracks. We're actually in a more dire era now than this country has ever faced. Go back down in your parent's basement, Gemma,

The same-sex types are scurrying like ants in a mowed anthill because they know their time is short, Christians are complacent because they are focusing on the afterlife (although there is this life too). Onward Christian Soldiers!

Thoughts while shaving: Following mid-term elections Obama (foreign enemy within) will grant amnesty to well over 11.6 million illegal aliens, neutralizing our culture to a cesspool of humanity. Having sown the wind of apostasy from taxpayer funded pulpits of public schools/universities, unleashing millions of Secular Humanist humanoids onto an illiterate, post-Christian, post-Constitutional society, Amerika is now literally, editorially, figuratively reaping the whirlwind from hell! Period! End Report!

I hope and pray the Knapps can take this matter to court and win it Constitutionally. With a good lawyer I believe it very possible. In doing so they can pave the way for others to overcome this discrimination against Christians and others who find dealing with sexual deviants abominable.
At the very least I hope they can set a precedent that others can follow and win.
This garbage of using the law to target and persecute Christians needs to come to and end.

As long as Christians encourage, in the name of fairness, gay marriage and abortion rights, there will be no abatement in the persecution of Christians.

What "special treatment under the law" are you talking about?
Descent people, Christian, Jew, Moslem, Atheist, Secular Humanists, etc., don't want filthy displays of perversion accepted as normal, natural, or healthy conduct. They don't want their children to see abominations and they don't want their children taught that what is detestable is what modest people do.
The laws you speak of are from "Common Law", not Christianity.

Galatians 5: 1-26, 6: 1-18, Ephesians 6:10-20.......with all your might, right to the very end of your life.

Jesus also said that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it!
And that small part in the first amendment that says the government cannot force a religion on you also applies!
When are Americans going to start standing up and saying enough of this trying to take away our Constitutional rights through such specious methods?

Let them "criminalize" me all they want. I will stand tall for my faith as I will walk in the shadow of death & fear no evil. They can persecute me, put me in jail, take my life...whatever... I know that in the end, I will just have gone to a better place. I will always obey the Highest Authority, and I will continue to pray for ALL the sorry souls that THINK that they are that Higher Authority! They are not, and soon they will find out the hard way! I'll continue to be just the law-abiding citizen that I have been for so many years!! People need to stand up to this tyranny, and not let these demonic loonies get the best of them. Actually, all of this had been planned for decades, and now we are seeing all of the actions come to life. I very much enjoyed reading the book by Robert P. George..."Conscience and It's Enemies". So much of what we are now seeing has been described in the book and HOW we got to where we ARE today.

This country cannot survive without God. The Godless minorities don't give a damn about the country.

It's actually sinfulness that corrupts!

The time all true believers had feared is upon us. Do we obey the "laws" of mankind that specifically go against the Laws of our Creator, or will we cave in to political correctness? Will we participate in celebrating abomination or will we stand firm in the face of fines and even prison time? Pray for strength and courage as our freedoms of speech and religion are further dissolved.

Gay fascists want to criminalize Christianity, yet give a pass to Islam.