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“A time for every purpose: next steps for marriage equality”
September 28, 2009
Dear CA Unitarian Universalists and fellow travelers on the journey toward marriage equality,
As we approach the one year anniversary of the passage of Proposition 8, it is time for us to reflect on where we have been, assess the current landscape and thoughtfully consider our next steps.
The complete letter
Several documents have been released that argue for and against going back on the ballot in 2010 to repeal Prop 8.
Prepare to Prevail Coalition argues against going back to the ballot in 2010
Love Honor Cherish’s statement Why We Can’t Wait till 2012
ACLU argues for not going back in 2010 until we have reached benchmarks to show
we can win.
Courage Campaign's position
Harnessing Love’s Power to Stop Oppression
Unitarian Universalists are joining with our friends at the Council of Churches and CA Faith for Equality to offer this curriculum in interfaith settings.
 
Listen to "Meet in the Middle," Holly Near's inspirational
new song in support of equality.
Palo Alto
Davis
Stockton
Claremont
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Rev. Clyde Grubbs from Throop Church |
Gathering before the rally in Sacramento |
Grandparental UUs from Davis
Photos of Civil Disobedience in San Francisco
Bay Area News Photos
San Diego North County Times
Modesto Bee
Proposition 8 poses a severe threat to the guarantee of equal protection
January 14th, 2009
Today, the California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and faith organizations representing millions of members filed an amicus curiae brief with the California Supreme Court urging the Court to invalidate Proposition 8. The brief argues that Proposition 8 poses a severe threat to the guarantee of equal protection for all and was not enacted through the constitutionally required process for such a dramatic change to the California Constitution.
Press Release
- California Council of Churches, CA Faith for Equality, UULM-CA
Amicus Brief (2.3 MB PDF)
Amicus Brief Joinder Letter (2MB PDF)
Our Constitution is a Social Contract
By Eric Alan Isaacson, Co-author of Interfaith Amicus Brief,
Attorney and UU from First UU Church, San Diego
March 4, 2009
"There are strong civil liberties arguments for ending the exclusion of gay and lesbian couples from the legal institution of marriage. But marriage equality is about more than equal access to the legal protections of marriage. It's about our affirming intimate relationships between people. It's about respect for the new and richly diverse definitions of what it means to be a family. "
Read the Full Letter
Visit our Scrapbook of Videos, Photos, and News Articles
UU's across California make a joyful noise on this historic day, June 17th, 2008, as the wave of same sex couples begin receiving their legal marriage licenses. For many, this sweet success is the result of decades of activism and fortitude.
The UULM-CA commemorates this historic civil rights victory with a scrapbook of couples and supportive family, friends, neighbors, congregants, and clergy.
Marriage Equality Endorsement by California NAACP President
In an eloquent new LetCaliforniaRing ad, Alice Huffman, President of the California National Associate for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) draws the connection between the racial discrimination, marriage equality, and the fight for justice for all people.
Download the Full Page
By Eric Alan Isaacson, Co-author of Interfaith Amicus Brief,
Attorney and UU from First UU Church, San Diego
Thanks to an interfaith effort led by the UULM and California Faith for Equality, religious voices calling for marriage equality are forcefully represented in the pending Marriage Cases, in which the California Supreme Court heard arguments on March 4.
Read complete article
" Prayers of thanksgiving and praise will be offered in houses of worship across California in gratitude for today’s watershed state Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex couples to get legally married.”
Press Release
CA Supreme Court May 15, 2008 Opinion on Marriage Cases (172 pgs)
Amicus Brief supporting same-sex marriage
Articles and Links
Gay Marriage Ruling - Photo Gallery
Los Angeles Times - May 15, 2008
Historic Public Hearing, March 4th, 2008
Compelling Oral Arguments were heard on March 4th. The hearing has been archived, both video and audio- only, and you can watch it (or just listen) on the Supreme Court website.
Press Release, September 26, 2007
Read more.
"Amici believe that same-sex couples should be afforded the same fundamental rights as different-sex couples to participate in the State-sanctioned institution of marriage."
UULM and the Supreme Court on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
By Eric Alan Isaacson, Co-author of Interfaith Amicus Brief,
Attorney and UU First UU Church, San Diego
The California Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether it is a violation of the California Constitution to deny same sex couples access to civil marriage.
In the original 2005 case of Woo v Lockyer , marriage equality was upheld. That decision was appealed. In 2006 it was heard in the appellate court. An extensive interfaith amicus brief was submitted, but marriage equality was struck down by a 2 to 1 decision.
List of Signers on the 2006 Interfaith Amici Brief
March 14, 2005 California Court rules that denying access
to marriage to same gender couples violates the CA state constitution.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer held that “no
rational purpose exists for limiting marriage in this State to opposite-sex
partners,” and that “the parade of horrible social ills
envisioned by the opponents of same-sex marriage is not a necessary
result from recognizing that there is a fundamental right to choose
who one wants to marry.”
Powerful oral argument
by the lead attorney that contains examples of
the impact felt by couples denied access to marriage.
Full
decision by Judge Kramer, a Republican who was appointed by former
Governor Pete Wilson
Lockyer
v. San Francisco (424K PDF) decision declaring SF Mayor
Newsom had overstepped his authority and voiding the marriages
licenses issued in San Francisco.
Top of the page
Flyer
1,138 Federal
Rights and
hundreds of states rights denied to same sex couples. Hand-out from Equality
CA, listing some of the key rights and responsibilities that
come with marriage that are not found with domestic partnerships. (727KB
pdf)
The Road to Civil Marriage Equality in the U.S.
With special attention to California. Compiled by Greg
McConigle, M. Div., April 2005 for the Unitarian Universalist Legislative
Ministry, CA.
Sermon: The
Bible and Same-Gender Marriage
by Mary A. Tolbert
Pulpit Editorial: United we Stand or Divided We Fall
by Stephanie Stolte
From the UU Fellowship of Stanislaus County in Modesto
This powerful statement was given as a pulpit editorial on October 16,
2005. It is a call to action to stop the ballot initiatives currently in
circulation that will amend the California state constitution to take away
existing domestic partner rights and responsibilities from same gender
couples, and prohibit civil marriage.
A Declaration of Religious Support for Equal Civil Marriage Rights (40KPDF)
History of Marriage Letter
(224K PDF) to Senator Walsh of Massachusetts
by Stephen Schloesser, S. J., Assistant History Professor, Boston College
"Freedom to Marry": a Gay Marriage Documentary
"When newly-elected San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom allowed same-sex couples to marry in February 2004, he created a political firestorm that has yet to be extinguished. Luckily for gay couples everywhere, Laurie York and Carmen Goodyear were on-scene with their video camera, and their friends, to document this historic moment in gay and lesbian history." —Review from 2004 Southwest Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Note: one of the couples featured in this video is Don Williams and David Jones of the First Unitarian Universalist Society in San Francisco
UUA Resources: news coverage, resolutions, etc.
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California Faith for Equality
www.cafaithforequality.org
Marriage Equality USA-California
www.marriageequality.org
Equality California
www.eqca.org
Courage Campaign
http://www.couragecampaign.org/
Yes on Equality
http://www.yesonequality.com/
America Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
http://www.aclu.org
Unitarian Universalist Washington Office for Advocacy
www.uua.org/uuawo/new/
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Banner A (168K PDF) |
Banner B (176K PDF) |
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