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Response to PA Marriage Amendment Bill

Why Should I Care about an Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution Which Defines Marriage?

With all the news about wars, natural disasters, and diseases every night on television, why should I be concerned about a simple amendment to our state constitution that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman? Surely something that simple can’t really hurt anyone. Or could it?

One reason you should care is that last summer our general synod of the United Church of Christ passed a marriage equality resolution which:

1. affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully in the rights, responsibilities, and commitment of legally recognized marriage;
2. affirms equal access to the basic rights, institutional protections, and quality of life conferred by the recognition of marriage;
3. calls for an end to rhetoric that fuels hostility, misunderstanding, fear, and hatred expressed toward gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons;
4. asks officers of the church to communicate the resolution to local, state, and national legislators, urging them to support equal marriage rights;
5. calls upon all settings of the church to engage in serious, respectful, and prayerful discussion of the covenantal relationship of marriage and equal marriage rights;
6. calls upon congregations, after prayerful, biblical, theological, and historical study, to consider adopting wedding policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender; and
7. urges congregations and individuals of the UCC to prayerfully consider and support local, state, and national legislation to grant equal marriage rights to couples regardless of gender, and to work against legislation, including constitutional amendments, which denies rights to couples based on gender.

At this time the issue of marriage equality is not an abstract one for the citizens of Pennsylvania. House Bill 2381 and Senate Bill 1084 call for an amendment to the Pennsylvania state constitution which says (in part):

“Only Marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth, and neither the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.”

First and foremost, this amendment is a violation of basic fairness and equal protection under the law for members of the GLBT community. Gay and lesbian Pennsylvanians are our neighbors, family members, co-workers, and friends. They pay taxes, raise children, and serve our communities and churches. They simply deserve the same rights, responsibilities, and protections as all other Pennsylvanians.

However, the passage of these bills also will be a huge step backwards for the protection and welfare of the citizens of Pennsylvania in a variety of additional ways.

We encourage UCC pastors and church members to educate themselves about these matters and take heartfelt, prayer-led action to have your state legislators stop this amendment before it gets any further.

Our concerns are as follows:

1. Denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry will adversely impact their legal rights to pensions, health insurance, hospital visitations, medical decisions for critically ill partners and children, and inheritances that married heterosexual couples enjoy.
2. The way this bill is written, even opposite-gender, long-term committed partners would lose the rights mentioned above, even if those rights are part of a negotiated union contract.
3. The amendment is written in a way that, if passed, it could affect the benefits of heterosexual senior citizens who have been in long-term relationships but choose not to marry to avoid losing social security or pension benefits.
4. The courts in Ohio have decided that a similar law in that state prohibits protecting domestic violence survivors (same or opposite sex) from their battering partners if they are not married.
5. This amendment is unnecessary because marriage between same-sex couples is already illegal in this state.
6. The purpose of federal and state constitutions has always been to protect human rights, not take away or limit them. To vote this amendment through will alter this basic premise of our government.
7. Passing this amendment will create a second-class of citizens (whether GLBT or opposite-sex partners) who nevertheless pay first-class taxes.
8. Pushing this amendment at this time is an effort to distract the public from the fact that the legislature has not passed the long-promised property tax reforms nor taken action on an increase of the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. There are a growing number of low-income working families who cannot afford health care and many senior citizens who struggle to pay for their prescriptions every month.

The proponents of this amendment in both houses of the legislature believe that all or most people of faith will agree with them and support their attack on marriage equality and the rights of heterosexual unmarried partners. It is very important for those of us who are concerned about the rights of society’s most vulnerable people to search our hearts and consciences and then take some action.

This bill can be defeated by an outpouring of letters, personal visits, phone calls, and e-mails to all of our state legislators. Having experienced the wrath of the voters over the legislative pay raises last year, they are much more sensitive to what they hear from the public now. The bills may come up for a vote at any time during the next legislative session. Your immediate action on this issue can make the difference.

~Disciples United Community Church
Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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