I feel sick at heart over the negative decision of the Washington State Supreme Court this morning, upholding Washington's Defense of Marriage Act. I feel revulsion at the jubilant responses of the attorneys and leaders of the religious right who have publicly gloated over our defeat. I feel deep grief for the same-sex couples who hoped to hear some affirmation of their right to exist and who are now once again plunged into the abyss which is discrimination and disenfranchisement. How horrifying it must be for men and women who love each other to be denied the right to publicly state that love and be affirmed in it. How humiliating it must be for the children of those couples to be told repeatedly, "your family doesn't exist, you don't really have two parents, you don't get the same rights as the rest of us because your two moms (or dads) can't be married."
It's just too much to bear some days, the fear and ignorance that underlie this kind of reasoning and outcome.
I'll head into Seattle later today to join others at Seattle First Baptist Church at 5 p.m. for a rally and an interfaith worship service, to lament with others and to begin the next stage of this work. Because we still believe that gradually this sea change in American life will transform the marriage landscape. A DOMA cannot stand forever, when we have the ongoing evidence that same-sex marriage is viable, that it is tender-hearted and true, and that it deserves civil recognition.
Let the time of mourning begin. And then let us rise to continue the work we have begun together.
Amen, Shalom, Salaam, and Blessed Be.
2 comments:
And the ruling was so close, 5-4. What a travesty. And in Washington of all places. It didn't surprise me when the constitutional ban passed here in Kansas, but it's so disheartening when places like New York (earlier this month) and now Washington state don't see the light.
The notion, as stated in the majority opinion, that lawmakers are acting in the interest of procreation, rather than popular discrimination, is laughable.
But good luck to you in Washington who aren't taking this sitting down!
Thanks, kc. Yesterday was a sad day here in Washington, but my spirits began to rise when I got to the rally in Seattle. I believe the adage is "bloody but unbowed"------though people were sad, they were also angry and looking for ways to take the next step.
Speakers at the rally included the plaintiffs, the lawyers, reps from ACLU, gay advocacy groups, and my own group, the Religious Coalition for Equality, which hosted the rally and worship service.
It was hot and sticky in the church, but there were hundreds there for the rally and quite a few stayed for the worship service.
A marriage equality bill will now start making its way through the legislature EVERY YEAR UNTIL IT PASSES!
We did it with anti-discrimination legislation and we will do it with marriage equality. Time is on our side and eventually this will seem like a foolish skirmish in the larger struggle.
Thanks for your thoughts.
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