Interesting. I figured as much.
But what strikes me as a huge conflict is the way the bOrg puts so much emphasis on official state-issued licenses & certificates. For example:
1) the brother who gives the JW wedding talk must sign the marriage certificate BEFORE the bride & groom consummate. At least in my area, that's a big deal. I know of one example when this was overlooked & the speaker had to leave his house that evening & meet them at the hotel so they'd not be guilty of pornea; as if to say the Holy Spirit magic wasn't in the document without his signature and therefore any sex acts would not have been covered scriptural ly because the state certificate wasn't complete yet.
2) the fact that undocumented immigrants cannot hold privileges or title in the congregation because they're not here legally
3) the fact that voter registration cards are frowned upon--even when a government requires them (unless you live in Mexico and the GB gives you a free pass)
So, now my question is, if a gay married man takes an interest & wants to get baptized, he would have to get LEGALLY divorced (ie: a certified, state-issued divorce on a piece of paper) before he could join. Now, once he does this and becomes baptized, he now has a divorce on record. Arguably, it is unscriptural in the JW context if no adultery had occurred. So, would this divorce be used to prevent them from obtaining privileges or title?
Will the elders manual have to be updated to include a clause that says scriptural divorce for HETERO couples is only when adultery occurs, but interested gay couples automatically qualify for scriptural divorce--no adultery required--because gay is a gross sin anyway so that's a free pass?
Or, is it possible that a particularly homophobic elder body who just doesn't like gays--even "sheeplike" ones who abandon the practices & lifestyle--would use the divorce as a way to keep them in a perpetual state of suppression where they could never be an MS or pioneer?
finally, if a legally gay married couple divorced to accommodate the JW baptism requirements and one of them decided to marry a sister later (many gays inside the bOrg do that, don't ask me why), could the elders put their foot down & say they can't remarry because no adultery had occurred and based on this technicality, their gay divorce was unscriptural?
The org is really going to have to make some modifications in their official policy & soon! Either to say gay marriages with state-issued certificates simply do not count because "ew! gay...", or, that piece of paper is just as imbued with magical superpowers as any marriage certificate, voter ID or citizenship paperwork and therefore must in principle fall under the same guidelines for scriptural divorce as any other legally issued marriage certificate.
