Clergy for Fairness: Interfaith group opposes discriminatory marriage amendment
Summary: On May 22nd, more than 30 clergy representing many faith communities met with members of Congress to express their opposition to the constitutional amendment that would limit marriage nationwide to one man and one woman, Senate Joint Resolution 1.
Organized as Clergy for Fairness, the group urged lawmakers not to write discrimination into the Constitution. As they stated in a news release, "this amendment would endorse one religiously biased view over all others and impose it on all Americans by constitutional fiat."
Clergy for Fairness is also collecting signatures on a letter opposing the marriage amendment. As of the 22nd, over 1,600 clergy had signed the document, which can be viewed (and signed) by clicking here.
The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, a participant in Clergy for Fairness, has issued a strong statement against the Amendment. According to the Forward (see below), the National Council of Jewish Women is also participating in Clergy for Fairness.
Clergy Condemn Anti-Gay Federal Amendment
by Doreen Brandt, 365Gay.com Washington Bureau, May 22, 2006
(Washington) As the US Senate prepares to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage several dozen Christian and Jewish leaders made the rounds on Capitol Hill Monday lobbying senators to reject the measure when it comes up for a vote about two weeks from now. Click here for the report.
Clergy Group Aims to Block Gay Marriage Amendment
By Neela Banerjee, The New York Times, May 23, 2006
WASHINGTON, May 22 - An interfaith coalition of clergy members and lay leaders announced a petition drive on Monday aimed at blocking a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on a vote along party lines last week, and the full Senate is expected to vote on it the week of June 5.
About 35 representatives of the coalition, Clergy for Fairness, said at a news conference that more than 1,600 clergy members had signed an online petition against the amendment. The group's Web site has postcards that lay people can print out and send to members of Congress. Continue
Jews active in campaign
 At the Clergy For Fairness event on Capitol Hill May 22nd (see above), Rabbi Craig Axler, pictured here, said: “As Jews, across the board, when we see this Federal Marriage Amendment, what I believe it brings up in our mind, is what it is to live as a Jew with a sense of collective history, with a sense of history that says that anytime one individual group, one class of persons, is singled out for distinct treatment, for discrimination, it is not long until another group is going to be singled out for similar discrimination.”
Liberals Defend Gay Marriage As Religious Right
By Jennifer Siegel, Forward, May 26, 2006
With the Senate slated to vote in three weeks on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, an interfaith coalition of liberal clergy is arguing that the measure would violate their religious liberty.
The coalition, billed as Clergy for Fairness, opposes the Marriage Protection Amendment, which would constitutionally define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Nearly two-dozen organizations — including the Alliance of Baptists and the Episcopal Church USA, the National Council of Jewish Women and the Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis, and several Sikh groups — belong to the coalition, which sent 35 religious leaders to Washington on Monday to meet with members of Congress. Click here
Reform Jewish Movement Urges Senate to Oppose Federal Marriage Amendment
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, News Release, May 19, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2006 – Yesterday, in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee approval of the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, Rabbi Marla Feldman, Director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism issued the following statement:
The Reform Jewish Movement calls on Senators to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment when it comes to the Senate floor in an expected early June vote. S.J. Res. 1 would permanently enshrine discrimination into the Constitution by defining marriage “as a union between a man and a woman,” and thus denying same-sex couples the same government rights and responsibilities afforded to heterosexual couples.
The Federal Marriage Amendment constitutionally fetters an entire community of Americans, relegating them to second class citizenship. Religious institutions have the right to decide which partnerships they will and will not sanctify in their houses of worship. The government, however, should not codify the religious views of some, nor should it deny equal rights to all of its citizens.
The Reform Jewish Movement, inspired by the teaching in Genesis that all human beings are created “b’tzelem Elohim” -- in the Divine image, has a long history of welcoming gay and lesbian Jews into its congregations and communal life. The Reform Jewish Movement’s advocacy on behalf of the GLBT community includes legislative and judicial efforts to secure equal rights and opportunity, including the right to marry.
Go to the news release on the Religious Action Center's website.
Religious right backing discriminatory amendment
Conservative Churches Claim Gay Marriage Would Harm Them
by 365Gay.com, May 23, 2006
(Washington) The president of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty says churches and Christian schools that oppose gay marriage will face government pressure if it's legalized.
Anthony Picarello says they could be barred from firing employees with same-sex spouses, forced to give them marital benefits, or lose charitable and property tax exemptions if they refuse. Continue
 Liberal Clergy's Opposition to Marriage Amendment No Surprise, Say Conservatives
By Bill Fancher, AgapePress, May 23, 2006
Clergy opposed to a constitutional ban on same-sex "marriage" say religious conservatives who support the proposed federal marriage amendment are bigots. But those conservatives don't appear to be overly concerned about the left-leaning clergy's lobbying efforts to derail the proposed constitutional amendment.
Several dozen Christian and Jewish leaders held a news conference on Capitol Hill, where they are lobbying senators to reject the amendment when it comes up for a vote about two weeks from now. Involved in that coalition were United Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, United Church of Christ, Reformed Jews, and others. Continue
MPA Vote Fast Approaches
Family advocates optimistic measure to protect traditional marriage will pick up votes in second Senate vote.
Citizen Link (Focus on the Family), May 26, 2006
The article expresses concern that national attention is distracted from this centerpiece of religious right legislation. It provides a link for "writing" letters to editors of local newspapers. Click for the article.
Diverse Faith Groups Unite to Push for Federal Marriage Amendment
By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker, Agape Press, May 25, 2006
Several major religious denominations have come together to urge the U.S. Senate to approve a marriage amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The Religious Coalition for Marriage has released a statement signed by 50 leaders and expressing support for the proposed federal marriage protection amendment.
The Coalition is comprised of all eight U.S. Catholic cardinals, as well as officials of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Church of God in Christ, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, and the National Association of Evangelicals. While diverse in many ways, the groups represented share a singleness of purpose -- the protection of traditional marriage. Continue
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