Updated: 4:00 p.m. CDT
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas state House is has given preliminary approval to a GOP-backed bill allowing clergy members to refuse to perform marriages that violate their beliefs.
The measure, which sailed through the Senate passed in the House Thursday by a vote of 141 to 2.
Supporters say the bill protects religious freedoms, but Democrats say existing constitutional guarantees separating church and state already allow houses of worship to set their own religious policies regarding marriage ceremonies.
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It’s possible that could return as an amendment to the clergy bill.