On Thursday, March 11th, I had the privilege of sitting in the gallery to observe the Constitutional Convention debate regarding efforts to amend the state constitution to restrict gay marriage. As I had anticipated, I found much of the debate riveting. I felt immensely lucky to be able to watch our democracy in person.

What I carried home with me were not the finely crafted words ringing in my ears from compelling and passionate arguments, but the visceral impact gained only through being present in this sacred space, that enshrines so much of our revered history. It is impossible not to be deeply moved by the four murals that depict ‘The Milestones To Freedom’ on the walls of the chamber. With appreciation for the journey of Massachusetts through history, it is also evident why the names of so many of our forebears were chosen to grace the ceiling cornice. Those of you who have been granted the privilege to work in this historic building must surely appreciate the responsibility of being surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses.

Consider what these past luminaries would think as efforts accelerate to legislate a class of our citizenry into a separate and unequal status. How can this happen in the state where William Lloyd Garrison, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Sumner, Samuel Gridley Howe and Wendell Phillips were born? How would they respond to the triumph of intolerance over fairness? How can anyone dare to work so diligently to deny the freedom to marry to gay and lesbian couples in the very same chamber where the ‘Spirit of America’ is incarnated? Is it time we change our license plates?

When will a fundraising campaign be initiated to add a fifth mural? I can see it now: ‘2004 Dawn of Intolerance Legislators Turn Back Nearly Four Centuries of Freedom.’ Imagine a panoramic painting of shadowy figures in busses crossing state borders into Massachusetts to spew their vitriolic brand of scripturally refined hatred, disguised as the desire to return to a wistful, but historically nonexistent era of traditional values. We know all too well here in Massachusetts that the calling card of theocratic fantasy is persecution. This is why an earlier group of elected officials chose to include the mural of the ‘Repentance of Samuel Sewall’ on the wall of the House chamber to be ever vigilant of the kinds of horrors of state approved intolerance that occurred during the Salem witchcraft trials. To be reminded of the ongoing need for humility and confession.

Among my own forebears are more than forty individuals who sought religious freedom and came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Great Migration. As a heterosexual and happily married man, I have many rights that were gained through the labors of these first comers, as well as privileges that were achieved only through the misguided, and at times brutal persecution, of those who were deemed different. I have been challenged to work to dismantle this legacy of systemic oppression. It is why seven years ago I made the decision to commit ‘civil obedience’ and no longer sign marriage licenses, believing then as I still do today, that as a clergy person, every time I sign a license, I blur the lines that separate church from state, and collude with the state-sanctioned discrimination of loving gay and lesbian couples, denied a civil right that I heartily enjoy.

Any active legislative effort to submerge the civil rights of a minority group under a majority group represents a fundamental betrayal of the guiding principles that reside at the soul of Massachusetts. These ill-guided efforts dishonor the charge of Gov. John Winthrop, who challenged his hearers, and all of us, in ‘A Model of Christian Charity’ that “there are two rules whereby we are to walk one towards another: justice and mercy.” Why are you preparing to diminish one of the best places to live in this country, if not the entire world? What is the source of your authority to accomplish such a deed?

There is still time to reverse course before we will all be marked by the stench of legitimized intolerance. I implore you to reconsider any effort to sabotage the Goodridge decision. Those who insist that the people must vote can be fully assured that they already have. You are the people who have been charged through our democratic process to exercise leadership. We have empowered you to do this daily, on a range of other issues and concerns. This is not the time to retreat. Do you ever wonder how you will be remembered? The cloud of witnesses are always watching.

Sincerely,

The Rev. David Allen Pettee
Ministerial Credentialing Director
Unitarian Universalist Association
Boston, MA

Information: info@uua.org