York County still split on same-sex marriage after Supreme Court ruling

Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding legal same-sex marriage is being called a troubling disappointment that flies in the face of God and the Bible by many who oppose gay marriage, but is being lauded as validation by gay couples and others who support marriage by same-sex couples.

For Rock Hill’s Jerry LaMonica and his husband, Eric, the couple married years ago in New York now will plan a South Carolina wedding for family and friends.

“This decision today is simply amazing,” LaMonica said. “We have received nothing but positive reaction, congratulations from people who know that we have been together so long and not only that we are married, but that our marriage will always be legal.”

LaMonica said that many of his friends are religious and “wonderful Christians” who worship in a traditional church and support gay marriage. Even those who don’t agree with the idea, now the law of the land, receive respect from LaMonica.

“We always have been respectful of people and their religious beliefs,” LaMonica said. “Many people have been taught and told what is right and wrong. We respectfully disagree and believe that we have the right to be married. This is a great day for everyone.”

Not all people in deeply religious and socially conservative York County agree.

“I am disappointed in the ruling because we need to be following scripture. Our responsibility is to scripture,” said Rev. Ron Richardson, senior pastor of Catawba Baptist Church in Rock Hill.

The ruling is another part of a “slippery slide” against traditional Christian principles and values, Richardson said.

Richardson said the ruling by the courts does not change the belief that he, and millions of other Christians, has that marriage is between a man and a woman. Yet Richardson said while he does not support same-sex marriage, and said he believes it to be a sin, that does not change his love for all people.

“Any persons, regardless of who they are, they are loved,” Richardson said. “That is the way of Jesus Christ.”

Rev. Jerry Devinney, senior pastor at Lakewood Baptist Church in Rock Hill, agreed the same-sex marriage ruling by the court is the wrong decision.

“This lowers the sanctity of marriage further, and causes more confusion in the culture,” Devinney said. “There is a standard of right and wrong and this is wrong.”

Devinney said the “Supreme Court of all courts is the court of the Lord, and God is against same-sex marriage.”

Devinney also said that he “loves with all my heart” all people, regardless of what he says is a “choice” to be part of a gay lifestyle and marriage.

Lakewood and Catawba are part of the York Baptist Association that uniformly opposes same-sex marriage.

Presbyterian Church USA, the largest Presbyterian affiliation in America, approved same-sex marriage as part of its Constitution in March and the decision Friday “reflects what is going on in our society and country” toward acceptance of couples of the same sex, said Rev. Mark Verdery, who leads the Providence Presbytery in York, Chester, Lancaster and two other counties where almost 8,000 people attend 57 churches.

“What we approved in March was inclusive, permissive, and allows the pastor to perform same-sex marriage if that pastor chooses to do so,” Verdery said.

Presbyterians in the Providence Presbytery narrowly approved the same-sex marriage amendment, but emotions were high and remain so on both sides.

“We can agree, disagree, but we can all serve together,” Verdery said. “The Supreme Court decision doesn’t change that.”

Jim Strickland of Clover, who was half of the first gay couple to be married in York County in November, said Friday’s decision is “verification by the courts” of the rights of he and his spouse, Mike Goforth, as Americans.

“We were a little nervous, and I watched it and was following on Facebook all morning, but this is awesome,” Strickland said. “It is a sense of relief that the court agrees that we have the same rights as anyone else.”

Strickland said same-sex marriage doesn’t change the sanctity or quality of other marriages.

“When Mike and I got married in November, nobody ran out and got divorced,” he said. “Nothing changed with any household anywhere, and that’s the way it will continue.”

Staff writer Teddy Kulmala contributed

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 1:15 PM with the headline "York County still split on same-sex marriage after Supreme Court ruling."