Video: Hathaway's Choice

YouTube.com
February 9, 2010
HLN-The Joy Behar Show: Joy Behar, Michelangelo Signorile and Kelly Cutrone discuss actress Anne Hathaway's decision to leave the Catholic Church after her brother came out. Signorile: "I think most Catholics, even, disagree with the Pope on, certainly, the issue of choice, certainly, even the issue of marriage. They're split, for gays and lesbians. I think most Catholics realize that the institution is still a few centuries behind." [Link]

Voice for Equality Update: Anne Hathaway Left The Catholic Church For Her Gay Brother

PerezHilton.com
February 6, 2010
Anne Hathaway (a Voice for Equality) has revealed that she and her family made the difficult decision to leave the Catholic church when Hathaway's brother came out. "The whole family converted to Episcopalianism after my elder brother came out," Anne reveals in a March interview with GQ. "Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?" [Link]

A Conservative Case for the Freedom to Marry

Ponderings on a Faith Journey
February 2, 2010
Pastor Bob Cornwall of Disciples of Christ comments on Ted Olson's pro-marriage equality piece from Newsweek in January: "He offers moral, legal, and societal reasons. It is a matter of civil rights, fairness, and ultimately honesty... The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution [marriage] is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it. [Link]

Podcast: Liz Saint John talks with Evan Wolfson about the freedom to marry

Sunday Magazine - KLLC, KITS, KMVQ and KFRC-AM San Francisco
February 7, 2010
Liz Saint John talks with Evan Wolfson, Founder and Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, about the ongoing discussions and court battles over gay couples' right to marry. [Link]

Wanted: A Church That Listens

On Faith (Newsweek)

February 3, 2010

The Arcus Foundation's Tom Kam writes about how he thinks Catholics should react to the hostile attitude that many Catholic leaders have towards LGBT people: "We must challenge the words and actions of the leadership of our Church and acknowledge the great wrong that is being done. In doing so, we must remember that we speak as good and faithful Catholics bearing witness to God's call to truth and justice." [Link]

Who is funding the anti-gay efforts in D.C.?

GLAA Forum

February 2, 2010

Bob Summersgill reports on who is supplying the money for Rev. Harry Jackson's continuing court battles to deny marriage to gay couples in DC. It turns out there are four primary donors, all from well outside of the DC area: High Impact Leadership Coalition, Focus on the Family, National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Family Research Council. [Link]

California bill would allow clergy to decline to marry gay couples

San Francisco Chronicle
February 1, 2010
California state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill that would allow religious leaders to refuse to perform any marriage that conflicts with their religious beliefs, stating that such a decision "shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any entity." Supporters of the freedom to marry want to alleviate concerns of those with religious objections while emphasizing the separation between civil and religious recognition of marriages. [Link]

Super Bowl Kiss Ad May Force CBS to Rate Smooches

Faith and Reason (USA Today)
January 29, 2010
Controversy on whether an advertisement for ManCrunch, a gay dating site, will air on CBS during the Super Bowl comes amid controversy surrounding CBS's decision to air an ad from Focus on the Family. [Link]

Mexico prosecutor challenges freedom to marry law

Agence France-Presse (Mexico)
January 29, 2010
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard called an appeal against the city's marriage equality law by the country's Attorney General "a grave mistake." Ebrard said that it is not the job of the attorney general to decide the city's laws. [Link]

Divorce, Not Freedom to Marry, Is the Real Issue for Rescuing Families

The Huffington Post
January 26, 2010
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes that denial of marriage equality "has absolutely nothing to do with rescuing the institution of marriage" and that the real issue is divorce: "[M]ore than 50% of all marriages end in divorce. And this was happening years before gays came out in significant numbers, let alone demanded the right to marry." [Link]

Why Straight People Should Be Following the Prop. 8 Federal Trial

The Huffington Post
January 25, 2010
Audrey Bilger explains why she believes that straight people should be advocating for the freedom to marry: "When marriage 'protectors' point to scripture and tradition to justify their antagonism to marriage equality, you need to ask yourselves whether you want to turn back the clock on centuries of reforms that have brought about a rich array of possible roles for women and for men." [Link]

Proposition 8 Documented

CNN: CNN Newsroom
January 23, 2010
Brooke Anderson interviews Dustin Lance Black, Reed Cowan and Steven Greenstreet about 8: The Mormon Proposition, the film about the Mormon Church's involvement in the passage of Proposition 8. [Link]

At Prop. 8 movie premiere, two dozen protest LDS stance

The Salt Lake Tribune
January 25, 2010
Protesters and movie lovers turned out Sunday for the world debut of a documentary film about the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' (LDS) role in overturning the freedom to marry in California. Hundreds of Sundance Film Festival-goers attending the premiere of "8: The Mormon Proposition," were greeted by two dozen demonstrators chanting, "Separate church and eight." [Link]

Prop. 8 foes tell court why they see measure as unconstitutional

Los Angeles Times
January 24, 2010
Challengers of the 2008 California ban on the freedom to marry concluded testimony Friday after calling multiple witnesses to define homosexuality, marriage and the role religion has played in prejudice. Supporters of Proposition 8 will put on their case beginning Monday. [Link]

Official Prop. 8 Proponent Claims Freedom to Marry Can Harm Children

Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2010
An official proponent of Proposition 8 testified at a federal trial Thursday that he was involved in disseminating claims that marriage equality could cause children to become gay and spark legalization of sex with children, incest and polygamy. [Link]

Prop. 8 Challengers Highlight Religion's Role in Anti-Gay Campaign

Los Angeles Times
January 21, 2010
The pro-freedom to marry plaintiffs in the Proposition 8 trial focused on religion in Wednesday's proceedings, with documents that indicated significant involvement of the Mormon and Catholic churches in the passage of Proposition 8, including an e-mail that praised the Mormon church for providing "financial, organizational and management contributions" for the measure. [Link]

Prop 8 Trial, Day Seven

Pam's House Blend
January 21, 2010
NCLR's Shannon Minter discusses the Proposition 8 trial Wednesday at which Ryan Kendall, a gay man who was subject to forced conversion therapy as a teenager, testified. [Link]

Voice for Equality: Rev. Geoffrey Black

The Rev. Geoffrey Black is the general minister and president of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Prior to his current appointment which began in October 2009, Rev. Black led the UCC's New York Conference for nearly a decade. Black was previously a program staff member in the UCC's Office for Church Life and Leadership. During his career he has served as assistant chaplain at Brown University, associate minister at St. Albans (N.Y.) Congregational UCC, pastor of Congregational UCC of South Hempstead (N.Y.), lecturer in the Field Education Department of Union Theological Seminary in New York and protestant chaplain at Adelphi University. Black is also currently a member of the board of trustees of Lancaster Theological Seminary. Ecumenical commitment, concern for equal justice, African-American empowerment and community improvement have shaped Black's ministry in the church and the communities in which he has lived. Learn more here.

On January 18, 2010, Rev. Black spoke before a crowd gathered at the Church of the Crossroads in Honolulu, Hawaii about the legalization of civil unions of gay couples soon to be considered in the Hawaii legislature:

We have come to understand that the rights of gay and lesbian couples are being violated as equal citizens. This is the civil rights issue of the moment. Sexual orientation is being used, just as color was used, as a reason to differentiate them from the rest of the population and treat them unequally. As a church person and church leader, I defend their [opposing religious groups] right to articulate their feelings and beliefs in the public square, but in the end, the government has the responsibility to treat all people equally. [Link]

Freedom to Marry salutes the Rev. Geoffrey Black as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Rev. Black's support inspires you, get involved!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

American Foundation for Equal Rights Responds to Ban on Cameras

LGBT POV
January 13, 2010
Karen Ocamb publishes the response by the American Foundation for Equal Rights to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to ban the broadcast of the federal Proposition 8 trial. Also posted is the text of a letter used in the pro-Prop 8 campaign from anti-gay leader William Tam, who has requested to be removed from the defense. [Link] See pro-Prop 8 video below which caused Tam to request to withdraw from the trial:

Editorial: Standing up vs. letting down

The Times of Trenton (NJ)
January 13, 2010
During testimony on legalizing marriage equality in N.J. last month, Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, encapsulated the case in a nutshell: "Like race, our sexuality isn't a preference," he said. "It's immutable, unchangeable and the Constitution protects us all from discrimination." Yet many New Jersey state senators voted no on the basis of religious beliefs. In a society founded on the separation of church and state, however, that filter is as incongruous as it is divisive. [Link]