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In the sphere of human rights there comes a time when people of conscience are morally required to stand up and declare what they believe is right based on principles of justice and fairness, not for themselves but for others.
The political struggle over school governance is now the most significant internal conflict in the Democratic Party, at the city, state and national levels. With gun control, gay marriage and immigration now uniting Democrats as never before, education reform remains a main dividing line.
In his Christmas address to Vatican officials, Pope Benedict reportedly praised an essay by France’s chief rabbi on the negative effects of gay marriage.
Think immigration through -- again. Forget about gay marriage. And for heaven’s sake, when it comes to rape, shut up!
The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards -- which sets halachic policy for the Conservative movement -- has voted unanimously to provide the approximately 1,600 Conservative rabbis with guidelines on performing same-sex marriages.
Jewish leaders praised President Barack Obama’s statement that he personally supports gay marriage.
Members of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association have signed a statement opposing a state ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriages. The group represents rabbis from 15 congregations in the state from the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements. No Orthodox rabbis signed the statement, which was adopted last month.
Jewish groups split on a federal appeals court ruling that allows same-sex couples to marry in California. The 2-1 decision Tuesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure that said same-sex marriages violated the state constitution. Prop 8 had reversed a decision the same year by the California state Supreme Court that had allowed same-sex marriage.
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday found California's gay marriage ban unconstitutional in a case that is likely to lead to a showdown on the issue in the U.S. Supreme Court. Proponents of the ban said they would appeal the ruling, and the Protect Marriage coalition that sponsored the ban called the judgment "out of step with every other federal appellate and Supreme Court decision." The appeal is likely to keep gay marriage on hold pending future proceedings.
All eyes will still be on New York in the coming weeks as the state prepares for marriage equality. I learned a lot in the run-up to wedding mania here in California in 2008, so I thought I would share some tips with those in New York.
If you pay attention to the news, the prospects for the future look grim.
When it comes to passing a gay marriage bill in New York State, even many supporters acknowledge that wide-reaching religious exemptions are crucial. After all, this is the state with the nation’s second-largest number of Catholics and largest number of religiously observant Jews, and many say including exemptions is a legitimate way to address concerns of the religiously observant.
" . . . If we left it to the 'will of the people,' would we ever have ended segregation in this country? . . "
A well-funded coalition of realtors and landlords, intent on protecting white neighborhoods and their attendant property values from feared black incursions, immediately mounted a campaign to amend the state Constitution and guarantee property owners' continued ability to deny minorities equal access to housing.
Parshat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18) God is present when two people commit their lives to each other and become one family.
When I see the coarse arguments currently raging over the issue of same-sex marriage, I don't see any thoughtful or fascinating debates or any embracing of tension. I see two armies shooting at each other.
" . . . Rotbart wants us to feel guilt, regret and fear; the very emotions that the conservative party and our past presidential party have been trying to make us feel for years now. I'm happy to say that we voted for change, and the days of Jews being stuck in an uninformed past are over . . . "
" . . . It is troubling that some Orthodox rabbis have joined with the Christian right to eliminate same-sex civil marriage. Banning same-sex civil marriage is about as relevant to Orthodox Judaism as banning the sale of shellfish . . . "