The federal legal battle over same sex marriage is ongoing. So does the battle rage in the States. Emotions are high with both sides adamantly committed to their position.

At the outset and without a lot of detail, I want to state my bias. I believe that traditional marriage, i.e. marriage between a man and woman is a core element to the stability of our society and the best thing for children. I believe, on the other hand, that homosexuals deserve rights and protections from discrimination and the respect due to any child of God.

Having said that, I want to raise the problem that lurks behind the same-sex marriage issue that is profoundly troubling. It is this: If same sex marriage becomes a constitutionally protected "right" as is now being argued in federal court, there will inevitably be serious restrictions on the freedom of worship. Put simply, Catholics who believe that marriage is a sacrament reserved for men and women will be coerced by the State to compromise or reject its belief system.

If sexual orientation becomes a "protected class" like race or ethnicity, the church and its affiliates will be bound by discrimination laws to deal with same sex marriage and homosexuality as it is, willingly, with race.

Here are a few examples of issues that have already come to the forefront:

In 2007 a California Lutheran high school was sued for expelling two girls who engaged in “homosexual conduct” on campus. The school eventually won this suit. Whether or not the school could win with a constitutional ruling and protected status is very problematic.

Also in 2007: The Oakland city government found the words “Marriage is the foundation of the natural family and sustains family values” to be a hate crime and reprimanded a group of Oakland city government employees for using these words on a flyer in the workplace.

And in Massachusetts:

Catholic Charities was forced out of the adoption business for the first time in 100 years because it will not place children with homosexual couples. A similar dislocation of adoption services took place in Catholic charities of San Francisco.

In New Jersey:

Ocean Grove Camp Ground, a Methodist camp, lost its state tax exempt status for not hosting a same-sex union in its marriage pavilion.

There are many more examples of this.

Kathryn Jean Lopez has this in her National Review article today:

Pres. Barack Obama’s nominee for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a Georgetown University professor named Chai Feldblum, wrote in 2006 that “just as we do not tolerate private racial beliefs that adversely affect African-Americans in the commercial arena, even if such beliefs are based on religious views, we should similarly not tolerate private beliefs about sexual orientation and gender identity that adversely affect LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] people.” Feldblum believes that there is a “zero-sum game” being played between religious freedom and the homosexual activists, in which “a gain for one side necessarily entails a corresponding loss for the other side.” Religious liberty, in Feldblum’s estimation, must give.

Much more is at stake here than same-sex marriage.