Religious lawyer calls out to people of faith warning what will happen if they don't 'STAND UP' following gay marriage ruling

The issues surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriage continues to escalate

The Supreme Court gave in to LGBT rights advocates on June 26 and legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. Now the entire United States court system must recognize the union of two same-sex individuals as legal, creating a social media frenzy around the globe, as well within the Catholic Church.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - When Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gawin Newsom became a superhero for the LGBT community after ordering the city hall clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. New Paltz, New York mayor Jason West also started performing same-sex marriages in the Village Hall after Newsom's bold move.

This time the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States created a different impression. The LGBT community may be celebrating, but religious groups, Catholics and the like are starting to voice out their indifference on the issue. Unfortunately, their voice appears to be not as proud and resonating as those from the celebrating LGBT groups and advocates.

Religious freedom is starting to be compromised as the LGBT advocacy continues to make stands in different parts of the world. Jeff Mateer, an attorney with the Liberty Institute, a conservative legal firm believes that people are starting to feel scared.

They are starting to keep their opinion about the indifference on same-sex marriage legalization to themselves because of misconceptions and misinformation promoted in "mainstream media." He believes that in the wake of the ruling, people with strict Catholic values who fail to express their opinion on the matter are failing to work for religious freedom.

"What I'm worried about is that people of faith won't stand up, and the result will be... a retreat into our places of worship, and there won't be engagement," he said. "And it will be de facto that holding these beliefs are penalized and punished."

Several claims are already being made after Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas advised government officials and employees to refuse issuing same-sex marriage licenses as their religious conscience dictates them to do so. This brought at least 100 people reaching out to Mateer's office seeking legal actions for cases like those.

Government employees who chose to abide by their strict religious upbringing are also protected by the law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 shields these employees and protects them from discrimination based, in this case, on religion.

Mateer encourages religious groups to engage in the issue, rather than staying silent. They need to defend themselves, their religion and their strong beliefs, even if it means they take the issue to court.

"The only protection that you will have is through the judicial process," he shares. If people indifferent to the same-sex marriage issue stay silent, it could be tantamount on their lack of capabilities to fight for their religious beliefs, something they should be pushing through as the law equally protects their rights as well.

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