Church leaders in Kansas stepped forward to express dismay Friday, contending the political agenda of a majority in the House encroached upon fundamental Christian principles of compassion, equality and safety for all people.

Colonial Church minister Aaron Roberts, of Prairie Village, was part of a trio who drove to the Capitol to personally register discontent with a bill supporters presented as a shield of religious freedom for those who object to same-sex marriage. Critics claimed the bill would grant legal standing to repress the rights of gay and lesbian couples.

"Ostensibly, this bill is being presented as a bill about religious freedom," Roberts said. "It's actually a license for bigotry."

Kate McGee, who pastors at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Topeka, said the bill was offensive to her as a Christian and American.

"It's not the Christ I follow," she said. "A bill like this, it discriminates against the very people that Christ would be sitting with and eating with today."

The measure approved Wednesday by the House 72-49 would allow government employees and businesses to deny services they believe validated same-sex marriage. The Kansas Constitution recognizes unions only between a man and a woman, but federal courts in other states are moving to strike same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional.

Representatives and lobbyists championing the House bill contended state law should be amended so strongly held religious principles wouldn’t be compromised in the workplace by same-sex couples engaging in behavior immoral to others.

"Our intent is purely centered on preserving the ability to practice religious beliefs according to time-honored and divinely inspired instruction," said Robert Noland, executive director of the Kansas Family Policy Council.

McGee said the view held by some people that homosexuals lived in sin shouldn’t be cast into law.

"If businesses rejected sinners, they would have no customers," McGee said. "They themselves wouldn't be able to shop in their own businesses. Where does it stop?"

The legislation was endorsed by House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, but received a chilly reception from Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita. She affirmed Friday the House bill wouldn’t advance in its current form.

Chad Herring, a Prairie Village minister who works at John Knox Kirk in Kansas City, Mo., said religious freedom centered on the idea people could congregate to worship without government interference. This constitutional protection shouldn't be distorted to make gays and lesbians second-class citizens, he said.

"The God that we believe in, the God that we see revealed in the Scriptures, the God we follow in Jesus Christ would not condone discrimination of any kind," Herring said.

Episcopal Bishops Dean Wolfe, of the Diocese of Kansas based in Topeka, and Michael Milliken, of the Diocese of Western Kansas based in Hutchinson, said profound disappointment with House passage of the bill compelled them to comment.

They said the bill — approved by a majority comprised of 69 Republicans and three Democrats — would provide legal standing for government employees and business owners to deny services without repercussion to people they assumed to be partnered gay or lesbian couples.

"In truth," the bishops said in a statement, "this bill is not about religious freedom but is aimed at creating state-authorized bias and inequality. This proposed legislation is reminiscent of the worst laws that permitted discrimination against people on the basis of color, sex or nation of origin."

"Promising to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being requires us to be adamantly opposed to legislation that does none of these things," the bishops said.