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Contra Costa
Times
Clergy
speak out for same-sex marriage
Group files amicus
briefs for case before state Supreme Court
By Susan Abram,
contracostatimes.com on the Web, September 30, 2007
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 28 --
Calling same-sex marriage a civil right, more than a dozen San Fernando Valley
clergy joined a statewide effort Wednesday to pressure the California Supreme
Court to end the ban on same-sex marriages.
Ahead of what is widely expected to be the next major state Supreme Court ruling
on same-sex marriage, reverends, pastors and rabbis met at St. Matthew's
Evangelical Lutheran Church to announce they would file 30 amicus briefs, formal
documents intended to convince courts on an issue.
The church leaders, who were joined by 90 civil rights organizations across the
state that also filed briefs, are hoping to influence the court's decision on an
upcoming review of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage.
Performing legalized marriage ceremonies -- same-sex or heterosexual -- is a
basic religious freedom that should be left up to each clergy member, said the
Rev. Jay Atkinson, senior pastor for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio
City.
"This is an issue of religious freedom ... freedom to practice religious beliefs
openly without coercion from government," he said.
Atkinson's church joined organizations such as the California National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Education Fund and the National Asian Pacific American Bar
Association.
"We are not treating all Californians equally if some can marry and others
cannot," Alice Huffman, president of the California Conference of the NAACP,
said in a statement.
"The law should protect all people equally, and all Californians should have the
choice to marry," she said. "I am honored to join other civil rights
leaders in calling on our state to end its ban on marriage for lesbian and gay
couples."
Wednesday's action follows a lengthy battle on the issue.
In 2000, 61 percent of California voters approved Proposition 22, limiting
marriage to between a man and a woman.
In 2004, San Francisco city and county officials concluded that withholding
marriage licenses from same-sex couples was a violation of the California
Constitution.
The city issued thousands of marriage licenses, but lawsuits from opposing
groups followed.
The California Supreme Court ordered San Francisco to stop issuing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples until it could be decided in court whether the
state constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry, as it does
for heterosexual couples.
The marriages were later invalidated by the California Supreme Court.
Several legal actions later, the court has now agreed to review an appellate
decision to continue the ban on same-sex marriage. A ruling is expected
early next year.
Members from some groups who defend marriage as an act between a man and a woman
fear the courts will overturn the ban.
"The bad news is the California Supreme Court is extremely likely to destroy the
definition of marriage next year," said Randy Thomasson, one of the leading
organizers for the VoteYesMarriage.com campaign.
The campaign is seeking funding to place a marriage protection act on next
year's ballot. But he said whatever the ruling, it will not change the way
Californians define the word "marriage."
"The majority of Californians have consistently known and respected that
marriage is only for a man and woman," he said. "No amount of legal mumbo
jumbo or liberal activist can change that. We have government of the
people, not government by the courts."
Some clergy say the legal wrangling goes against the U.S. Constitution, which
grants the right of freedom of religion.
Yet for some religious leaders, same-sex marriage challenges long-held beliefs
that the union of marriage should exist only for a man and a woman.
"I know that my community is deeply divided over this," said Rabbi Elliot Dorff,
a Conservative Jew who represented the American Jewish University at Wednesday's
meeting.
Still, the Jewish community is gradually opening up to listen to the arguments
for same-sex marriage, he noted.
"People are created in the image of God and they need each other," he said.
For some same-sex couples who attended the news conference, legalized marriage
in California would open the doors to federal rights.
For Jason Howe, it would mean American citizenship for his partner, Adrian
Perez-Boluda, a Spanish national who is teaching at Cal State Northridge.
"It's a start," Howe said if California legalizes their marriage.
For Pasadena resident Kathleen McGregor, a recognized marriage between her and
her partner of seven years would mean not being viewed as "single" in the eyes
of the federal government.
"My partner and I would like to be married," she said. "We want that solid
act of commitment."
Meanwhile, Assembly Bill 43, called the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage
Protection Act, is expected to be reviewed soon by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Introduced by state Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, the bill would
extend marriage protection to same-sex couples.
The bill has passed both the Assembly and Senate, but Schwarzenegger has
indicated in published reports that he plans to veto the bill, just as he did a
similar bill in 2005, preferring to leave the issue up to voters or the courts.
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