Statement: Massachusetts State House Rally in Support of Same Sex Marriage

(February 10, 2004) The citizens of Massachusetts and our state legislators need to know that there are many religious people, from many religious traditions in our state, who support the right of same-sex couples to marry. You have no doubt seen the large banners hanging from the side of the Unitarian Universalist headquarters building right next door to the State House. They proclaim that Unitarian Universalists believe that civil marriage is a civil right. We celebrate the Supreme Judicial Court's enlightened ruling in the Goodridge case, and we enthusiastically applaud last week's opinion from the Court that civil unions are not the solution to establishing full equality for same-sex couples. As we learned from the tragic history of racial discrimination in this country, separate but equal does not work.

There are some who say that to call this an issue of civil rights is to belittle the long struggle of African-Americans against racism in this country. I say to you today that there is nothing to be gained by erecting a hierarchy of oppressions. This is not a question of who has suffered more. This is a question of justice. So I say to you today what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said 41 years ago: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Unitarian Universalists also oppose any effort to amend the Massachusetts Constitution to limit the rights of the same-sex couples. Our state Constitution has never in its long history been amended to limit the rights of an entire class of citizens, and now is no time to start. The American experience demonstrates an increasing understanding of the rights of our people. From the abolition of slavery through the extension of voting rights to women and the civil rights victories of the recent past, America holds out a vision to us all of the beloved community. Generation after generation of Americans have been willing to move us closer to the day that that beloved community will be a reality. Now is not the time to move backwards on civil rights for all citizens. The challenge of this generation is to move forward to the creation of a more open-hearted and affirming society.

I fully understand that there are people of faith in Massachusetts for whom same-sex marriage is seen as a violation of their religious beliefs. But please be clear that nothing in the Goodridge decision will alter the beliefs or practices of any religious group. Religious marriage will justly remain the prerogative of the individual faith community in accordance with their beliefs. And this is as it should be. But the task of our government and elected representatives is not to enshrine in our laws the religious point of view of any one faith; the role of our government is to dedicate itself to protecting the rights of all citizens.

I today call upon Unitarian Universalists and all people of good faith in Massachusetts to continue to inform their elected representatives of our support for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples and to affirm our opposition to any effort to amend the state constitution to prohibit this newly-won and justly-deserved freedom. As the 19th century Unitarian minister and abolitionist Theodore Parker said, "The arc of the moral universe is a long one, but it bends toward justice."

As citizens of the Commonwealth, as religious people, we raise our voices to say: civil marriage is a civil right.

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100