Religious leaders suggest government religious interference
NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Calling same-sex marriage a civil right, more than a dozen San Fernando Valley clergy members joined a statewide effort Wednesday to pressure the California Supreme Court to end the ban on gay marriages.
Ahead of what is widely expected to be the next major state Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, reverends, pastors and rabbis met at St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Hollywood to announce they would file 30 amicus briefs, formal documents intended to persuade courts on an issue.
The religious leaders, who were joined by 90 civil-rights organizations across the state that also filed briefs, are hoping to influence the court's decision on an upcoming review of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on gay marriage.
Performing legalized marriage ceremonies - same-sex or heterosexual - is a basic religious freedom that should be left up to each clergy member, said the Rev. Jay Atkinson, senior pastor for Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City.
"This is an issue of religious freedom, ... freedom to practice religious beliefs openly without coercion from government," he said.
Ahead of what is widely expected to be the next major state Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, reverends, pastors and rabbis met at St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Hollywood to announce they would file 30 amicus briefs, formal documents intended to persuade courts on an issue.
The religious leaders, who were joined by 90 civil-rights organizations across the state that also filed briefs, are hoping to influence the court's decision on an upcoming review of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on gay marriage.
Performing legalized marriage ceremonies - same-sex or heterosexual - is a basic religious freedom that should be left up to each clergy member, said the Rev. Jay Atkinson, senior pastor for Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City.
"This is an issue of religious freedom, ... freedom to practice religious beliefs openly without coercion from government," he said.
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