Gay marriage ban wins big in Alabama

(T)he Marriage Protection Amendment is clearly an issue of religious liberty: Religions should have the right to decide which partnerships they will and will not sanctify in their houses of worship, yet the government should treat all couples equally in its allocation of civil benefits.

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Jewish Values and Equal Rights for Gays and Lesbians

The two most often cited Biblical texts concerning homosexuality are both found in the book of Leviticus, where they are in the context of a larger section directing sexual behavior. First, it is written: “Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abhorrence.” (Leviticus 18:22) The second citation is from Leviticus 20:13, where we read that “If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abhorrent thing; they shall be put to death-their blood guilt is upon them.” Yet, these individual verses exist in a broader tradition that mandate equality, tolerance, and justice. We are guided by the very basic belief that all human beings are created b’tzelem Elohim (in the Divine image), as it says in Genesis 1:27, “And God created humans in God's own image, in the image of God, God created them; male and female God created them.” Reform Judaism also opposes discrimination against gays and lesbians based on our contemporary understanding of the nature of sexual orientation. A Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) responsum states: “We hold that homosexuality is no longer (an abomination); it is not a mental illness or a social deviancy; it is not a perversion of the natural order. Homosexuality is not a choice or a preference; it is not something that one decides to do or to abstain from doing. It is, like heterosexuality, the way one is…As such it makes no sense on religious or moral grounds to differentiate between people on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Reform Movement Policy on Same-Sex Marriage

The Reform Movement has a long and proud tradition of fighting for equal rights for gays and lesbians. This tradition dates back to 1965, when the Women of Reform Judaism passed a resolution calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality. In 1997, the Union for Reform Judaism passed a resolution endorsing “legal recognition of monogamous domestic gay and lesbian relationships” and vowing to “support secular efforts to promote legislation which would provide through civil marriage equal opportunity for gay men and lesbians.” A 1996 resolution approved by the CCAR supports “the right of gay and lesbian couples to share fully and equally in the rights of civil marriage,” and officially states the Reform rabbinate’s opposition to “governmental efforts to ban gay and lesbian marriage.”

In March 2000, the CCAR passed a landmark resolution stating that “the relationship of a Jewish, same gender couple is worthy of affirmation through appropriate Jewish ritual.” The CCAR resolution officially supports Reform rabbis who choose to officiate at religious same-sex wedding ceremonies. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, noted the significance of this resolution: “For the first time in history, a major rabbinical body has affirmed the Jewish validity of committed, same-gender relationships.”

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