Board Member Profile

Race and Gender: Why Marla Scharf is An Outspoken Marriage Equality Advocate

When Marla Scharf's parents crossed the border to New Mexico in 1956 to be married, they knew that their home state of Texas would not recognize their union as legal. In fact, it was until five years later that the Lone Star State wiped all anti-miscegenation laws from its books, and it wasn't until 11 years later that marriage between a man and a woman of different races would be legal in all 50 states.

Today, Scharf keeps on fighting for freedom to marry—not for people of different races but for people of the same gender. She was active in recruiting UUs to join the recent campaign to keep the anti-marriage initiative off the November ballot. "This is very personal to me. I refuse to sit back and watch another generation of children have their parents’ love--and their family--disrespected because their lifelong commitment to creating a family cannot be legally recognized as a civil marriage," Scharf said.

She is a leader on UULM's Marriage Equality statewide team and just joined the UULM Board earlier this year. "As a lifelong UU, I view marriage equality as fundamental. As our affirmation goes, ‘Love is the doctrine of this church,’" she said. As an attorney, Scharf noted that her advocacy work with UULM is also deeply spiritual because it is faith-based. "I've worked for progressive causes with other organizations, but with UULM work, it feels much deeper, and more important—I feel a sense of being connected with the Divine," she explained.

Scharf is a first-year student at Starr King School for the Ministry and a member of the board of trustees at the First Unitarian Church of San José.