Solidarity Grows in Fight Over Gay Marriage Bans
MotherJones
by Tucker Foehl
(JAN 14) In a novel approach to contesting gay marriage bans, Reverend Michael
Ray and St. Thomas's Episcopal Church in New Haven, CT announced
yesterday that they will perform no marriage ceremonies at all. Even
though no gay couples have asked to be married there, Ray sent a letter
to the 115 families of the church informing them of the new strategy to
combat discrimination.
Ray noted that he could recommend other churches
but also asked couples “to postpone their marriage and stand in
solidarity with same-sex couples so they understand what it's like not
to have that privilege.”
With the
fight over gay marriage bans sweeping the nation, most recently in Arizona and Virginia, this issue will continue to dominate domestic
debates in future elections and ballot initiatives.
Although St. Thomas
Church actions are unlikely to change the Episcopal Church's gay
marriage ban or significantly impact the overall debate, the increase
of solidarity does come at an important time for gay rights activists
and their supporters.
This week over twenty gay rights groups –
including the Log Cabin Republicans and Stonewall Democrats – issued a
statement that they work together in 2005 toward common goals and
collective action. In the statement they put forth a broad call for
support and emphasized the importance of solidarity efforts like
Reverend Ray's in the fight for equal rights:
“Even
the most vibrant, vital community can, over time, settle into a status
quo. A movement cannot. And the success of our movement is measured not
only in the hearts and minds we change, the allies we engage and the
civil rights we secure, but in the strength of our collective
commitment to the pursuit of enduring social, political and legal
change that moves us ever closer to true equality.”
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