Tell the Governor to Sign California Faith for Equality Co-Sponsored Bill Protecting Religious Freedom
The California Assembly passed the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act (SB 906) in a 46-25 vote on August 19, the bill is now heading to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk.
The bill, introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and also co-sponsored by Equality California and California Council of Churches IMPACT, protects clergy from performing any civil marriage that is contrary to the tenets of his or her faith. The bill also protects religious institutions from losing their tax-exempt status for refusing to perform any civil marriage, and deepens the distinction in state law between religious and civil marriage by defining the latter as a civil contract that requires a state-issued marriage license.
Call the Governor today!
•Identify yourself as a CFE member
•Share your religious and congregational affiliations
•Share why it is important to you that clergy and congregations are protected
•Tell him to help clarify the distinction between religious and civil marriage by signing SB 906
The California Assembly passed the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act (SB 906) in a 46-25 vote on August 19, the bill is now heading to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk.
The bill, introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and also co-sponsored by Equality California and California Council of Churches IMPACT, protects clergy from performing any civil marriage that is contrary to the tenets of his or her faith. The bill also protects religious institutions from losing their tax-exempt status for refusing to perform any civil marriage, and deepens the distinction in state law between religious and civil marriage by defining the latter as a civil contract that requires a state-issued marriage license.
Call the Governor today!
•Identify yourself as a CFE member
•Share your religious and congregational affiliations
•Share why it is important to you that clergy and congregations are protected
•Tell him to help clarify the distinction between religious and civil marriage by signing SB 906
4 comments:
'Loving vs Virginia', 1967, does not correspond at all to Gays 'marrying' each other.
Overwhelmingly, American Blacks [and Blacks worldwide] resent the unorthodox church groups that keep using that court case for their own purposes.
The vast majority of Blacks, in no way, equate racial equality human rights, with homosexual unions. And they don't like being compared to that one bit.
Really?
It's late and I'm anxious to get out the door and head home but just for a start, here are a few African American leaders talking about LGBT equality:
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder, National Action Network:
"I think it is wrong... You cannot fight for civil rights for some and not civil rights for all. I think it's a problem, and I think it's a contradiction to the spirit of those of us who have suffered bias and prejudice. [On the black community receiving criticism for the passage of Prop 8] I think that we got a lot of unfair blame for that, but at the same time... we need to be more vocal about people having the right to do things we may have religious disagreements with.'
Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus, NAACP, Co-Founder SNCC:
"This is easy for a non-gay person to say -- but I believe the movement for fairness for LGBT persons could be advanced considerably if LBGT persons would "come out" in their churches, workplaces, schools and among their friends and neighbors. To say "I am gay" seems to be to be simple way to say "Here I Am. This is who I am. You liked me a moment ago -- I hope you like me still."... If your church preaches bigotry against gay and lesbian people, try to keep that prejudice away from the public sphere -- the rest of us would appreciate it."
Congressman Charles Rangel, (D-15):
"People talk about "homophobia within the black community," but the Congressional Black Caucus is virtually unanimous on almost every bill seeking to protect the civil rights of LGBT Americans. We want an end to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in jobs, housing, public accommodations, and marriage. Compared to almost any other subgroup in Congress, the LGBT community has a champion in the Black Caucus."
Read more here ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keli-goff/in-their-own-words-from-r_b_692377.html ... and have a great Labor Day Weekend.
Bayard Rustin:
"[T]he job of the gay community is not to deal with extremists who would castigate us or put us on an island and drop an H-bomb on us. The fact of the matter is that there is a small percentage of people in America who understand the true nature of the homosexual community. There is another small percentage who will never understand us. Our job is not to get those people who dislike us to love us. Nor was our aim in the civil rights movement to get prejudiced white people to love us. Our aim was to try to create the kind of America, legislatively, morally, and psychologically, such that even though some whites continued to hate us, they could not openly manifest that hate. That's our job today: to control the extent to which people can publicly manifest antigay sentiment."
Coretta Scott King:
"Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection....A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."
Mildred Loving:
"I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights."
LGM, you are a very insulting person and increasingly one who seems full of hate on this issue. The state of California married me to my wife, and we are still married. We are not "married". We are MARRIED.
Your side, the side of intolerance and ignorance, is losing. Your protests increasingly sound as out of date as this man. And you further don't know what you are talking about.
I agree with esteemed President Obama... he says, "Marriage is between 1 Man & 1 Woman."
Rangel & Sharpton not representing strong majority of blacks in America.
Vast majority of blacks worldwide, believe what the Bible, The Torah, & Koran say about sexual sin. God disapproves of it. That does not mean that God hates gays, Christians don't hate gays, Blacks don't hate gays, Californians don't hate gays.... just making a distinction between Bible Teachings, and minor Cultural practices. It's simply not a Marriage. And Blacks don't like being roped into unorthodox camps, when they are firm in their orthodoxy.
No one [in the USA] says you can't practice your sexual desires & set up households. You just won't get approval from society. Yes, sin costs.
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