Battle for gay marriage rights gains Jewish support
For years, Robin Tyler has been trying to wed her partner, Diane Olson. Every Valentine's Day they show up at the courthouse with a wedding cake and their attorney, Gloria Allred, only to be denied a marriage license. Last month, Tyler sat in the plaintiff's chair in a case before the California Supreme Court, challenging the legality of the state's definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
But even this well-seasoned activist -- she was one of the first openly gay comics, and she organized marches on Washington in 1979 and 2000 -- is glad to have a new ally: 100 rabbis who support Jews for Marriage Equality, an organization advocating for same-sex civil marriage.
"Society is strengthened by allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally formalize both their bond with one another and their mutual responsibility for their household and children," it reads. "Society should not only permit but also encourage civil marriage for such couples."
Since 1999, same-sex couples in California have been able to register for domestic partnership rights, and in 2005 lawmakers expanded those rights to include almost all the same responsibilities and privileges of marriage, such as inheritance rights, community property and the right to request alimony if the partnership is dissolved. Federal marriage rights -- more than 1,000 of them -- are not afforded to gay couples.
But even this well-seasoned activist -- she was one of the first openly gay comics, and she organized marches on Washington in 1979 and 2000 -- is glad to have a new ally: 100 rabbis who support Jews for Marriage Equality, an organization advocating for same-sex civil marriage.
"Society is strengthened by allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally formalize both their bond with one another and their mutual responsibility for their household and children," it reads. "Society should not only permit but also encourage civil marriage for such couples."
Since 1999, same-sex couples in California have been able to register for domestic partnership rights, and in 2005 lawmakers expanded those rights to include almost all the same responsibilities and privileges of marriage, such as inheritance rights, community property and the right to request alimony if the partnership is dissolved. Federal marriage rights -- more than 1,000 of them -- are not afforded to gay couples.
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