Churches Out to Invalidate Proposition 8

Yes I had to double take that as well when I read it on Liz Williams Singing My Song blog. However, it does appear that church and religious leaders in California have been one of the first groups to file a law suit against Proposition 8 which overturned the States Supreme Court Ruling, in March this year, that 2000's Proposition 22 violated the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and upheld the right held that individuals of the same sex had the right to marry under the California Constitution.


Rev. Rick Schlosser, Executive Director of the California Council of Churches said:

"Proposition 8 poses a grave threat to religious freedom. If the Court permits
gay men and lesbians to be deprived of equal protection by a simple majority
vote, religious minorities could be denied equal protection as well—a terrible
irony in a nation founded by people who emigrated to escape religious
persecution. If the Court permits Proposition 8 to take effect, religious
discrimination similarly could be written into California's Constitution."

Wow! I'm quite impressed that senior churchmen are prepared to stand up for the USA's separation of the powers of Church and State in such a sensible way. One co-signatory of the law suit Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ added:

"We believe our communities are strengthened and our religious freedoms
protected by ensuring that the principle of equal protection applies to all
Californians. Religious groups know from long experience the dangers posed by
placing unchecked power in the hands of temporary majorities."

The groups represented in this law suit are the California Council of Churches, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, two Episcopal Bishops (of California and Los Angeles), the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations and the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of California, and the Northern and Southern California Nevada Conferences of the United Church of Christ.