Freedom to Marry E-Update
Issue # 10 | February 1, 2006

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Freedom to Marry Week
Freedom to Marry Week
February 12th-18th
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    Why Marriage Matters
    America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry

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    • A Note from Executive Director Evan Wolfson

    Dear ${token1} --

    Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma, and called it "praying with our feet." For Dr. King, Rabbi Heschel, the religious leaders, and the diverse heroic individuals who refuse to stay silent, every step on the march to justice is a leap of faith.

    The death of Coretta Scott King this week, a long-time supporter of all people's equality and liberty, including our freedom to marry, reminds us to dig deep into our own resources of faith and keep marching forward despite painful defeats or losses.

    "The civil rights movement that I believe in thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion," said Mrs. King. "All of us who oppose discrimination and support equal rights should stand together to resist every attempt to restrict civil rights in this country." Coretta Scott King was an early and vocal endorser of the Marriage Resolution, and repeatedly spoke out in favor of the freedom to marry and against anti-gay attacks, including the current wave of anti-gay state constitutional amendments.

    As Michael Walzer points out in his book, Exodus and Revolution, the Children of Israel were not carried to freedom on "eagle's wings" – they had to march, and it wasn't easy. As they "prayed with their feet" on their march to freedom -- to a vision and attainment of justice and liberation and enlarged possibilities for all humanity – they had to be brave and keep moving forward, every single step.

    Dr. and Mrs. King's journey, like the Exodus story, reminds us that it will take some of our own people and allies -- as well as the others we must reach -- time to rise to fairness. Both Kings faced and faced down – in the words of Exodus – "murmurings" and objections even from their own people and supporters, and stood steadfast for an embracing vision of justice and inclusion.

    When the National Black Justice Coalition gathered together African-American and allied faith leaders at a remarkable convening earlier this year, they invited those in the church and Beloved Community to make sure that religion's voice is raised for inclusion, liberation, and fairness. Too often the religious right and its political agenda gets the media spotlight as speaking for religion, while, in fact, there are many religious leaders – across faiths – who bear witness to the belief that God cherishes and dignifies each and every one of us. They understand the need to embrace and protect every family, every loving couple, every parent and every child, to see everyone treated fairly under the law, and to respect the separation of church and state that best protects religious as well as personal freedom ("Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's").

    As we lead up to Freedom to Marry Week from February 12th through the 18th and beyond, let us help the faith leaders in our communities speak out in support of lesbian and gay couples, their kids and their families with compassion, understanding and support. There are many resources to help them understand the real harm suffered by discrimination in marriage, and programs that can help both leaders and lay persons to speak out as people of faith. The many truly loving and compassionate voices from faith communities across America are needed now more than ever. And help has never been more readily available than it is now.

    -- Evan Wolfson

    Follow developments in the movement for marriage equality on our website, and in future issues of Freedom to Marry's bi-monthly E-Update.


    (Photo By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)

    On the Horizon
    Maryland achieves marriage equality

    In a case brought by the ACLU, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled on Friday, January 21, that Maryland's law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman violates the state's Constitution.

    "Although tradition and societal values are important, they cannot be given so much weight that they alone will justify a discriminatory statutory classification," the decision states.

    "When tradition is the guise under which prejudice or animosity hides, it is not a legitimate state interest."

    "This is truly an historic moment for the State of Maryland," added Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland. "Same-sex couples across the state just came a giant step closer to the day when they won’t have to worry that life partners will be ignored in discussions about emergency medical care, or about the hurt and confusion their children feel when forced to explain why their parents can’t marry."

    [MORE...]



    Landscape
    NBJC Summit

    The National Black Justice Coalition recently held a groundbreaking, two-day Black Church Summit which brought together over 150 African American religious leaders to help the church serve as a progressive platform inclusive of all people.

    Bishop Yvette Flunder spoke passionately about the need for the black church to support marriage equality for all.

    “These anti-marriage proponents are pandering to the black church for their own agenda,” said Sylvia Rhue, religious affairs and constituency development director for NBJC. “It is imperative that religious leaders realize and recognize the contributions of the LGBT community and the impact marriage discrimination will have on African American children and families.”

    "It's not a question of bringing the issue of the gay and lesbian community to the church,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the Summit's keynote address. “It's about having an open discussion because they're already there. All of us know that this is nothing new. The only thing new is to have an open discussion on how we deal with it."

    [MORE...]



    Coretta Scott King, 78, Dies
    The nation mourns the loss of a civil rights leader

    Coretta Scott King, an advocate for civil rights, peace and social change, has died at the age of 78.

    Among her many calls to justice, King affirmed marriage equality as an important civil rights issue, denouncing the proposed federal and state constitutional amendments that would bar marriage and other family protections.

    "Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection," she said. "A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."

    [MORE...]

    "Some people question why is it so easy to polarize the African-American church around same-gender loving issues and issues of marriage? Denominations that had never written a position paper about anything — until someone [before the 2004 elections] came in and gave them some technical assistance and offered them some change... I believe they used the oppression of our unresolved prejudices to divide us."
    - Dr. Yvette Flunder, senior pastor of the United Church of Christ’s City of Refuge Church in San Francisco, at the NBJC’s Black Church Summit, Houston Voice, 1/27/2006