Las Vegas Sun

November 30, 2009

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Editorial: Government has no business in this area

Thursday, Dec. 28, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

Clark County Clerk Shirley Parraguirre did the right thing Wednesday when she immediately scuttled new regulations that would have required the police to conduct background checks on ministers who perform marriages. The separation of church and state has been embedded in this nation's history since its founding, and the regulations under consideration would have crossed that line.

Parraguirre said the idea for written regulations came from the district attorney's office. Parraguirre said she was trying to provide enforcement powers of a state law that seeks to prohibit ex-felons from performing marriages for at least 10 years after their convictions. But the cure in this case was worse than the ill it was trying to alleviate.

The county clerk said she wants to meet with religious leaders and look at the regulations again. It is hoped that the meeting could help clear the air with the ministers who were alarmed by her proposal. Parraguirre should permanently shelve the whole idea of regulations.

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