Green Gaia
Veteran Member
November elections are just a couple months away and your help is needed to stop discriminatory laws being written into our state's constitutions. 7 states have on their ballots this fall anti-gay measures which seek to limit GLBT rights and freedoms. Please help us stop this injustice! ~ Maize
Standing on the Side of Love 2006: No Discrimination in the Constitution
http://www.uua.org/news/freedomtomarry/
The UUA needs your help in making sure discrimination isn't written into the Constitution! Please visit the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy's web resources to find out what you can do!
Historical Overview
At the 1996 UUA General Assembly, delegates voted overwhelmingly to call for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The Unitarian Universalist Association has a long-standing and deeply held commitment to support full equality for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people, going back 33 years to 1970. Notable among these actions are:On December 21, 1999, then-UUA President John A. Buehrens wrote to then-Vermont Governor Howard Dean, in support of the Vermont State Supreme court's unanimous decision that Vermont must guarantee the same protection and benefits to gay and lesbian couples that it does for heterosexual couples. In March, 2000, Unitarian Universalist ministers and lay people were active in giving testimony and providing support for an action taken by the Vermont legislature in April, which established Vermont's landmark Civil Union Bill.
On April 11, 2001, seven gay and lesbian couples (including seven Unitarian Universalists) brought suit in Suffolk, Massachusetts Superior Court, asserting that the couples had all been denied marriage licenses and seeking to gain the legal recognition "that same-sex coupleswhose relationships are as loving and as committed as those of heterosexual coupleshave an equal right to civil marriage."
On Feb. 4, 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its landmark ruling, opening the way for Massachusetts to become the first state in US to support equal marriage. On May 17, 2004 (the same day as the historic Brown v. the Board of Education ruling was handed down by the US Supreme Court fifty years earlier), marriage licenses were issued to Massachusetts same sex couples who wished to marry in the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, support to grant legal standing to same sex couples gains momentum across the country. Currently, UUs and members of the interfaith community working in support of marriage equality in the US await court rulings in Washington State, New Jersey, and New York which could significantly advance marriage equality.
UUA President William G. Sinkford, speaking after a decision on the U.S. Supreme Court case, Lawrence et al v. Texas was handed down, said, "Laws aimed at discriminating against bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people are affronts to all people, no matter their sexual or gender orientation. These laws have been used to separate and divide us from one another; their intent is to support discrimination and make some people in our country second-class citizens. Unitarian Universalists across our country will continue [our] efforts, grounded in faith, which call us to support everyone's full humanity, everyone's ability to love, and everyone's value in the world."
Resources
Standing on the Side of Love 2006: No Discrimination in the Constitution
http://www.uua.org/news/freedomtomarry/
The UUA needs your help in making sure discrimination isn't written into the Constitution! Please visit the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy's web resources to find out what you can do!
Historical Overview
At the 1996 UUA General Assembly, delegates voted overwhelmingly to call for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The Unitarian Universalist Association has a long-standing and deeply held commitment to support full equality for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people, going back 33 years to 1970. Notable among these actions are:
- Non-discrimination in ministerial employment in 1980
- Support of gay and lesbian services of union in 1984
- Supporting legal equity for gays and lesbians in 1987
- Opposing legalization of discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in 1992
- Support of the Right to Marry for Same-Sex Couples in 1996
On April 11, 2001, seven gay and lesbian couples (including seven Unitarian Universalists) brought suit in Suffolk, Massachusetts Superior Court, asserting that the couples had all been denied marriage licenses and seeking to gain the legal recognition "that same-sex coupleswhose relationships are as loving and as committed as those of heterosexual coupleshave an equal right to civil marriage."
On Feb. 4, 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its landmark ruling, opening the way for Massachusetts to become the first state in US to support equal marriage. On May 17, 2004 (the same day as the historic Brown v. the Board of Education ruling was handed down by the US Supreme Court fifty years earlier), marriage licenses were issued to Massachusetts same sex couples who wished to marry in the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, support to grant legal standing to same sex couples gains momentum across the country. Currently, UUs and members of the interfaith community working in support of marriage equality in the US await court rulings in Washington State, New Jersey, and New York which could significantly advance marriage equality.
UUA President William G. Sinkford, speaking after a decision on the U.S. Supreme Court case, Lawrence et al v. Texas was handed down, said, "Laws aimed at discriminating against bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people are affronts to all people, no matter their sexual or gender orientation. These laws have been used to separate and divide us from one another; their intent is to support discrimination and make some people in our country second-class citizens. Unitarian Universalists across our country will continue [our] efforts, grounded in faith, which call us to support everyone's full humanity, everyone's ability to love, and everyone's value in the world."
Resources
- Freedom to Marry 2006: UUs Focus on Legislative Advocacy While Affirming Marriage Equality
- Freedom to Marry 2005: Honoring Loving UU Same Sex Couples
- Freedom to Marry Media Coverage
- Unitarian Universalist Clergy Who Will Not Sign Marriage Licenses Until Same Sex Couples Are Allowed to Marry
- States Facing Constitutional Amendments Banning Same-sex Marriage
- Information on Freedom to Marry Coalitions in U.S. states
- Listen to Jason Shelton's song, "Standing on the Side of Love," written in tribute to Pres. William Sinkford's prophetic leadership and witness in support of Freedom to Marry. Soloist: Jeannie Gagne. Copyright 2004 Jason Shelton, used with permission, all rights reserved. Information on purchase of this piece also available.
- Visit the UUA Press Room for complete listing of Freedom to Marry press coverage involving UUs.
Join interfaith clergy who oppose attempts to write discrimination into the United States Constitution!
For more information
- Strategic advice on marriage equality from Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry
- Information on UUA services in support of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender persons
- For media information, or to schedule interviews, please contact the UUA Office of Information and Public Witness.
- Contact Freedom to Marry, headed by Evan Wolfson, one of America's leading lesbian/gay rights advocates and lawyers.