One of the two primary sponsors of a South Dakota bill that would permit businesses to refuse services to same-sex weddings and other events that violate their religious beliefs said, “Religious rights need to continue to trump gay rights” if they want to prevent the country from “heading down the road to Iran.”

Speaking to the Associated Press on January 28, State Legislator Steve Hickey, Republican from Sioux Falls, posited this argument, which was rather odd since Iran is a theocracy where gay people can face flogging or the death penalty. Hickey, who is also a pastor, said he believes in traditional marriage between a man and a woman and hence fears prosecution by a court in South Dakota that is working towards legalizing same-sex marriages in the state.

While his bill may be aimed against the rights of the LGBT community, its wording is ambiguous and thus allows for many other kinds of discrimination as well. Speaking of his bill, Hickey seemed to oppose provisions in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that disallows private businesses from discriminating on grounds of race.

He said, “If we want to talk about church and state, this is a bill that keeps the state out of my church.”

Currently, same-sex marriages cannot take place in South Dakota but current state law compels businesses to provide services to receptions and other events without any discrimination.

According to law professor Eugene Voloch from UCLA, since South Dakota does not have a law that prevents discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, people “are already free to discriminate, even much more broadly, based on sexual orientation.”

State senator Angie Buhl O’ Donnell referred to Hickey’s bill as “mean spirited” and said that the clergy in South Dakota is already privy to not participating in wedding ceremonies that violate their religious beliefs.

Photo Credits: Dennis Bratland