Only the poisonous reactionaryism of organized religion could contaminate the human-rights ecstasy of NY's new law:
Language that Republican senators inserted into the bill legalizing same-sex marriage provided more expansive protections for religious organizations and helped pull the legislation over the finish line Friday night....
The amendment that was passed stated that barring access to same-sex ceremonies, or failing to provide services for them, would not "result in any state or local government action to penalize, withhold benefits, or discriminate against such religious corporation, benevolent order, a not-for-profit corporation operated, supervised or controlled by a religious corporation."
In short, a "religious corporation" is free to discriminate. (What if the Restaurant Association of America had successfully inserted into the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that private restaurants were exempt? Yes, I know, restaurant owners don't have their own First Amendment, although the Rand and Ron Pauls of America believe they should.)
Meanwhile, these bigoted religious corporations are free to hold huge tracts of land -- tax free -- and operate immense healthcare and other private and (in reality) quite profitable concerns -- tax free.
The earthly scams of organized religion press on: it's too holy, too sacred to be bothered with honoring all humans' rights, or even pitch in for the material betterment of society on April 15.
It just kind of sticks in one's craw.