Grammy award-winning singer Amy Grant is standing by her decision to host her niece's same-sex wedding, telling People magazine that she has avoided social media criticism about the event.
News of the wedding broke publicly last November when she told The Washington Post that she and her husband, Vince Gill, would be hosting her niece's same-sex wedding on their farm.
"I never chase any of those rabbits down the rabbit hole," Grant told People of the social media reaction. "I love my family. I love those brides. They're wonderful, our family is better, and you should be able to be who you are with your family and be loved by them."
It's the same farm where Grant and Gill were married.
"I own a farm that I bought back in the '90s, and they were just looking for a beautiful place to get married," Grant told People. "So, she and Sam got married on the same hillside where Vince and I got married."
Last November, Grant said of the couple, "What a gift to our whole family to just widen the experience of our whole family."
"Honestly, from a faith perspective, I do always say, 'Jesus, you just narrowed it down to two things: love God and love each other,'" Grant said. "I mean, hey – that's pretty simple."
Evangelist Franklin Graham said Grant was misapplying God's Word on the issue.
"Yes, we are to love God & love each other. But if we love God, we will seek to obey His Word. Jesus told us, 'If you love Me, keep My commandments' (John 14:15). God defines what is sin, not us; & His Word is clear that homosexuality is sin," Graham said. "For me, loving others also means caring about their souls & where they will spend eternity. It means loving people enough to tell them the truth from the Word of God. The authority of God's Word is something we can never compromise on."
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Amy Grant to Host Niece's Same-Sex Wedding at Her Farm
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Jason Kempin/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.