Religious leaders
rally to keep marriage
between man, woman
BY JONATHAN TAMARI,
Asbury Park Press from the Web, October 3, 2005
TRENTON -- Saying the
tradition of limiting marriage to only one man and one woman must be preserved,
around 200 religious leaders prayed Monday that New Jersey's current laws on
marriage would remain unchanged.
"At all times marriage was between one man and one woman,'' said Jeff Beacham of
the New Jersey Faith Alliance, following a prayer vigil on the steps of the
Statehouse. "What gives us the right to think we can change it? We
have a responsibility to pass it on to the next generation.''
Across West State Street, around 10 people, including several pastors, joined to
counter the prayer vigil. Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay-rights
group Garden State Equality, said popular sentiment in New Jersey favors
allowing gay marriage.
"This is the wrong message for the wrong state,'' Goldstein said.
The state Supreme Court is expected to hear a lawsuit in its current session
that asks for the state to permit gay marriage. An appeals court ruled 2
to 1 against ordering such marriages to be allowed.
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