 Gay advocacy groups condemn state law, urge PCUSA to support same-sex marriage By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Saturday, June 26, 2004
The organizations – More Light Presbyterians, That All May Freely Serve and the Witherspoon Society – long have sought to remove the "fidelity/chastity" ordination standard (G-6.0106b) from the Book of Order. They also support the removal of the 1978 Authoritative Interpretation that declares homosexuality a sin. Several overtures seeking those ends, and supported by the organizations, will be considered by commissioners at the 216th General Assembly, which is meeting this week. There also is an overture, opposed by the organizations, that asks the General Assembly to endorse "A Christian Declaration of Marriage," which affirms the traditional Biblical understand of marriage between a man and a woman. On the opening day of the General Assembly, the organization issued a joint statement in which they said Virginia "is moving toward a radical denial of civil rights to gay and lesbian persons." They condemned as an "outrage" a recent amendment to the state's 1997 Affirmation of Marriage Act, which prohibits gay marriages in Virginia. The amendment extends that ban to civil unions, partnership contracts and other "arrangements between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage." The measure was approved by the Republican-controlled legislature by a veto-proof margin, and is scheduled to take effect July 1. Massachusetts is the only state that has legalized gay marriage, while civil unions are legal in Vermont. California and Hawaii have domestic-partnership laws that provide legal rights to gay relationships, while a similar law in New Jersey is scheduled to take effect July 1. Virginia's attorney general and other supporters told the Associated Press that the law provides a needed safeguard for the institution of marriage and does not deprive anyone of individual rights. Conservative groups such as the Family Foundation have praised the law, while gay advocacy groups have condemned it. In their statement, More Light Presbyterians, That All May Freely Serve and the Witherspoon Society said: "Our organizations, all working for justice in our Presbyterian Church (USA), note with dismay and outrage this far-reaching effort to reject any claims of gays and lesbians to any kind of respect, or even legal standing, for their long-term committed relationships. … "If indeed faithful committed relationships are one of the basic elements of a full and satisfying life, as the ardent defenders of 'traditional' marriage maintain, then surely those relationships must not be denied to women and men who are by their own nature drawn most deeply toward intimate relationships with people of the same sex. "We therefore, as a body representing the Presbyterian Church (USA), enjoying now the hospitality of the great Commonwealth of Virginia, urge the legislature and the people of Virginia to reconsider the action they are contemplating, as a terrible denial of the rights and dignity of people whose value as children of God is beyond question. "We also call upon the members of our own Presbyterian Church (USA) to seek in every possible way to advance legislative and legal action in our state and federal governments, that will protect and expand the rights of people who seek to live in loving, wholesome and responsible relationships, regardless of the gender of the two partners." |
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