Post by PapaEZRA on Jan 18, 2006 3:16:11 GMT -5
Religious and Civil Rights Groups Support Same-Sex Couples in Legal Battle to Marry
SAN FRANCISCO -- In eight friend-of-the-court briefs filed Monday with the California Court of Appeal, more than more than 250 religious and civil rights organizations urged the court to put an end to state laws that deny same-sex couples the protections of marriage. The Court is hearing the State’s appeal of the March 2005 decision by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer, which held that California’s current statutory ban on marriage of same-sex couples violates the California Constitution.
“I am proud to join with other civil rights leaders in standing up for fairness and dignity for all,” said Alice Huffman, President of the California Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “Never before has such a diverse array of groups stepped forward to call for an end to the unfair treatment faced by same-sex couples and their families when they are denied the ability to marry.” The group filed an friend-of-the-court brief asking the Court of Appeal to apply the holding in Perez v. Sharp, the 1948 California Supreme Court decision striking down laws banning interracial marriage, to the current case. The NAACP’s brief was authored by longtime civil rights advocate Jon B. Eisenberg.
More than 200 local, regional, and national religious organizations and clergy also filed a brief arguing that the constitutional principle of religious freedom supports the right of same-sex couples to marry. Groups joining the brief include the United Church of Christ, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Unitarian Church, the California Council of Churches, California Faith for Equality, the Ecumenical Catholic Church and the Buddhist group Soka Gakkai International-USA. The brief was authored by a team of attorneys under the leadership of Raoul D. Kennedy.
Read the rest of the artical at:
www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/23411prs20060110.html
Then come back and tell us your thoughts.
SAN FRANCISCO -- In eight friend-of-the-court briefs filed Monday with the California Court of Appeal, more than more than 250 religious and civil rights organizations urged the court to put an end to state laws that deny same-sex couples the protections of marriage. The Court is hearing the State’s appeal of the March 2005 decision by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer, which held that California’s current statutory ban on marriage of same-sex couples violates the California Constitution.
“I am proud to join with other civil rights leaders in standing up for fairness and dignity for all,” said Alice Huffman, President of the California Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “Never before has such a diverse array of groups stepped forward to call for an end to the unfair treatment faced by same-sex couples and their families when they are denied the ability to marry.” The group filed an friend-of-the-court brief asking the Court of Appeal to apply the holding in Perez v. Sharp, the 1948 California Supreme Court decision striking down laws banning interracial marriage, to the current case. The NAACP’s brief was authored by longtime civil rights advocate Jon B. Eisenberg.
More than 200 local, regional, and national religious organizations and clergy also filed a brief arguing that the constitutional principle of religious freedom supports the right of same-sex couples to marry. Groups joining the brief include the United Church of Christ, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Unitarian Church, the California Council of Churches, California Faith for Equality, the Ecumenical Catholic Church and the Buddhist group Soka Gakkai International-USA. The brief was authored by a team of attorneys under the leadership of Raoul D. Kennedy.
Read the rest of the artical at:
www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/23411prs20060110.html
Then come back and tell us your thoughts.