What does the church mean by the right to religious liberty?

 The Catholic News Agency is reporting that the Archdiocese of Washington, DC has issued a statement following yet another ruling that the voters of DC do not have the right to vote on the civil rights of citizens.  “In short, the panel found a right for same-sex couples to marry by ignoring the right to religious liberty,” charged the archdiocese.  The archdiocese further argued that the Board of Elections and Ethics committee's decision advances "paternalism under the guise of righteousness.”

Okay.  Under the same-sex marriage statute, no church or religious group will be required to marry same-sex couples.  No religious group will even be required to accept gay people into its community. So just whose religious liberty is being ignored here?  The only "freedom" I can think of is the "freedom" to keep LGBT citizens from accessing the rights of every heterosexual citizen in Washington, DC.  I hadn't realized that "freedom to oppress" was an American value we needed to preserve.

And as for the "paternalism under the guise of righteousness" charge, how can anyone possibly take the statement seriously when issued by an institution that has advanced patriarchy under the guise of religion for centuries?