Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that exempts licensed ministers from preforming marriage ceremonies that go against the ministers religious belief.

Highlights:

• Specifies that no ordained or licensed minister and no religious society is required to solemnize a marriage or allow property to be used to host a marriage ceremony if the marriage does not conform to the minister’s or society’s sincerely held religious beliefs (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that a minister or society that refuses to solemnize a marriage or allow its property to be used to host a ceremony for that reason is immune from civil or criminal liability and may not be sued for public-accommodation discrimination (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits the state or a political subdivision from penalizing or withholding any benefit or privilege from such a minister or society, including any governmental contract, grant, or license (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that nothing in the bill is “intended to or shall be construed to” limit or abrogate any rights conferred on ordained or licensed ministers or religious societies by the Ohio Constitution or the United States Constitution (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text