Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Virginia Law On Marriage Officiants Discriminates Against Sikhs
In In re Dhanoa, (VA Cir. Ct., March 29, 2013), a Virginia trial court held that while Sikh temples do not have clergy, and thus members cannot rely on Va. Code Sec. 20-23 to perform marriage ceremonies, Sikhs do qualify under Va. Code Sec. 20-26 as members of a religious society that does not have ordained ministers. The court went on to hold that two of the conditions imposed by Sec. 20-26 are unconstitutional-- the requirement that only one person per "religious society" may be authorized to certify marriages and the requirement that the person chosen by the religious society post a $500 bond. The court held that the these requirements discriminate against Sikhs on the basis of religion. The ACLU issued a press release reporting on the decision.