NEW JERSEY, NEWARK: Bishops call for passage of state 'marriage-equality' bill
Episcopal News Service. December 8, 2009 [120809-06]
Mary Frances Schjonberg
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey Bishop George Councell, Episcopal Diocese of Newark Bishop Mark Beckwith and other Episcopalians joined more than 1,000 others in Trenton Dec. 7 to urge the New Jersey state Senate to pass a marriage equality bill.
Some of those supporters packed a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room for what turned out to be more than seven hours of often-emotional testimony about whether to advance the bill to the full Senate. The committee voted 7-6 just after 10 p.m. EST to send the bill forward.
The Senate could vote as early as Dec. 10, but it is not clear if the Democrat-controlled house will pass the measure. If it does pass, the bill would go to the Assembly where many believe Senate approval would improve its chances of passage.
New Jersey has permitted civil unions since March 2007, but many say civil unions do not provide the same protections as a civil wedding.
The New Jersey legislature has six more weeks of its so-called "lame duck session" to pass the bill, which out-going Governor Jon Corzine has said he will sign if it passes while he is still in office. Governor-elect Chris Christie, who will be sworn in on Jan. 19, has vowed to veto it.
"I am confident that through this process the marriage equality issue will be recognized for what it truly is -- a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law," Corzine said in a statement Dec. 7.
Opponents of the bill, who included Orthodox Jewish rabbis and Roman Catholic officials, told the committee Dec. 7 that the bill would interfere with religious freedom. However, Councell and Beckwith, among many others, said the bill would, in Councell's words, "promote stable relationships, protect partners and families and provide public recognition -- all of which are essential for the establishment of true equality and full dignity for same-gender couples."
Councell, whom the committee called to testify together with Beckwith, told the senators that the gay and lesbian couples "are treasures of our church, whose support, loyalty and dedication bless and enrich our congregations and the communities that they serve." He said that his support of the bill stemmed from the teaching of the Baptismal Covenant to "strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being" and "the values of the Episcopal Church -- as expressed through the actions of our General Convention over the past 30 years."
"I am compelled to support equal protection under the law for all, and especially for those whose rights and dignity are threatened or limited," he added.
Beckwith told the committee that "I pray that the marriage bill passes -- so that all couples who have engaged in a lifelong union can have their unions recognized."
"Homosexuality is not an issue of lifestyle; it is a matter of identity," he said. "We don't choose our identity; we are challenged to claim our identity as God's gift to us. The church that I have chosen to serve is about the mission of helping all of God's children claim and celebrate their identity as imago dei -- as created in the image of God."
The Daily Record group of newspapers in northern New Jersey published a version of Beckwith's testimony Dec. 7 as an opinion article. Both bishops were limited to two minutes of testimony, as were all witnesses.
"The heartache for so many these past decades is that countless numbers of people have been taught to hide or deny their sexual identity -- at the expense of their soul's health, their true giftedness and their civil rights," he added.
The complete text of Councell's testimony is available here and Beckwith's is here.
The bill, the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act, does not require members of the clergy to marry couples of the same sex if their religious beliefs prohibit it. It would have the legislature declare that enactment of the bill is intended "to end the pernicious practice of marriage discrimination in New Jersey."
On Dec. 7, the Judiciary Committee amended the bill to say religious societies, institutions and organizations can't be compelled to provide space, services, advantages, goods or privileges for same-sex marriages and can't be sued for such denials.
Beckwith's testimony Dec. 7 was the second time in recent days that he had been in Trenton to lobby for the bill. On Dec. 3, he was one of approximately 650 people attending a rally at the state capitol to urge the legislature to pass the bill.
The Episcopal Church's General Convention last July agreed (via Resolution C056) that bishops, "particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church."
Since 2007, clergy in the Diocese of Newark have been able to bless same-gender relationships and sign civil union licenses. Suggested texts for blessings can be seen here.
Councell told ENS that he is in the midst of revising the diocese's policy in light Resolution C056. Blessings may occur, he said, where clergy and congregations have determined that they have what he called "a ministry of welcoming and celebrating same-gender couples." He also said clergy will be able to sign licenses, but that he will not sanction specific texts for blessings until the work outlined in the resolution of gathering liturgical resources for blessings has been completed and reviewed.
Same-gender couples can marry in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont. A New Hampshire law takes effect Jan. 1. In all five states, legalization came through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote.
The city council in Washington, D.C., voted Dec. 1 to legalize gay marriage. A second vote of approval is needed and the bill is subject to a 30-day congressional review period, but observers of the Congress-Council relationship say that the Democratic majority in Congress will not block the measure.
Thirty states have amended their constitutions to specify that marriage can only be between a man and a woman; all but three of those amendments were adopted since the 2004 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that required legalization of same-gender marriage in that state. Voters in Maine last month repealed a state law allowing same-gender marriage.
A same-gender marriage law was defeated by the New York state Senate on Dec. 2 by an unexpectedly wide 24-38 margin, eight votes less than what was needed for passage. It had passed earlier in the Assembly, and Gov. David Paterson had pledged to support it.
The Diocese of New York's Social Concerns Commission and Committee on LGBT Concerns emailed a statement to ENS saying that "as people of faith" its members were
"saddened and disappointed by the New York State Senate's vote against marriage equality for same-sex couples."
The failure to enact this legislation means that families headed by same-sex couples, including families with children, will continue to be denied the same economic security and legal protections that heterosexual married couples have. It is disheartening and is not in keeping with the resolutions of our own Episcopal Church that gay and lesbian persons "are entitled to equal protection of the laws with all other citizens."
The Rev. Mark Hummell, commission chair, and Stephen McFadden, committee chair, wrote that they asked that members of the diocese "both straight and gay, lay and clergy, continue to keep faith and put their energy into seeing that marriage equality happens in the future."
"You may want to contact your state senators about their votes," they wrote. "It is especially important to contact those senators who voted for the legislation. They are our allies, and many spoke eloquently and courageously on behalf of equal treatment for all New York families."
The two men said voters ought to tell their senators that the diocese supports marriage equality for same-sex couples. Such a reminder, they said, would "balance out the voices of other religious groups that fought against marriage equality."