Clergy Phone Banking Against Proposition 8

Published October 23, 2008 @ 03:53PM PT

california gay marriage I don't know if there's a more important group out there advocating against the passage of Proposition 8 than clergy. That right there is one of the more remarkable story lines of the 2008 election season - in Florida, California and Connecticut, we're seeing the emergence of a religious infrastructure to speak out for LGBT rights in an unprecedented way. They may not have the money that conservative Mormon and Catholic groups have to fund anti-gay efforts, but they win hands down on offering a moral voice on issues of LGBT rights.

Today, local clergy joined up with the No On 8 Campaign to lead a statewide phone bank in California, urging voters to say no to Prop 8. Jan Garbosky, President of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego’s Board of Trustees, had this to say about the phone banking effort today:

Regardless of how people feel about marriage, it is simply wrong to eliminate fundamental human rights. That’s why these faith leaders are speaking out, to preserve the basic human dignity of all Californians. They understand what the law says about marriage, and that no church or clergy member could be forced to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex, or any other, couples.

Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as progressive religion!

Check out a larger article on Clergy working to defeat Prop 8 here. For recent posts on this site dealing with religious efforts to defeat anti-gay Amendment 2 in Florida, click here. And for a Roundup on some of the best quotes from progressive faith leaders supporting same-sex marriage rights, click here.

Share this Post

Comments (3)

We belonged to a church in Massachusetts that for many years was performing "commitment" ceremonies. The church organist & his partner were married in a ceremony in early 2001.

Because our pastor was the one standing up for people's rights to have any sort of ceremony celebrating their relationship, it made a HUGE difference in the attitude of the church members.

We belonged to the United Church of Christ, otherwise known as "Congregationalist." Since you're from MA, you probably saw the bouncer ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx1u1v7hAtY

We haven't found a church quite like it since moving to Vegas...

Posted by Lisa Smolen on 10/23/2008 @ 08:25PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Lisa
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
There are a lot of UCC churches that are really great -- especially in Massachusetts :) The bouncer ad is really neat, too...but too bad NBC and several other networks refused to air it.

Posted by Michael Jones on 10/23/2008 @ 09:34PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Michael
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I forgot to mention in my first post how the ad wasn't aired on most networks. Apparently, inclusion is too dangerous an idea for mainstream America.

Posted by Lisa Smolen on 10/23/2008 @ 10:13PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Lisa
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.