'A coming storm'

Government: A federal constitutional amendment may be the only way to head off a church-state clash over same-sex marriage | Lynn Vincent

When he saw the news story, Anthony Picarello did a double-take. On Monday, May 22, more than 30 religious leaders from 10 states traveled to Washington, D.C., to voice their concerns over same-sex marriage and religious freedom. Mr. Picarello, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, read an online account of a press conference held in conjunction with the trip.

"To consciously legislate against religious traditions . . . is really an affront to my faith," Craig Axler, leader of Reform Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, Pa., told reporters.

But Mr. Axler and his group, "Clergy for Fairness," weren't rallying against same-sex marriage. They were complaining that the Federal Marriage Amendment, scheduled for a June 5 vote in the U.S. Senate, "raises alarming constitutional concerns" because defining marriage as between one man and one woman would restrict the liberty of religious leaders who, like Mr. Axler, want to be able to marry same-sex couples.