Cecil Ballard is pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Marion, Iowa.

Ballard has declared that all marriages in the United States must obey harsh Christian religious rules about who can be married and how married couples must behave. Ballard signed a letter sent to the Iowa state legislature demanding that the legislators submit themselves to the power of Christian leaders.

The letter stated that Christian rules about marriage must be obeyed by everyone:

“Because God is God of all, there is no structural difference between religious and civil marriage. The essence of marriage remains the same in both the religious and civil realms. (Col. 1:15-19) The acknowledgement of, and reference to, marriage in the laws of our state and nation does not create a second realm of marriage that is somehow divorced from the only definition determined by God.”