(left) Susan Heiskell (pastor of MCC New Haven) and Anne Zaya were rebuffed for the second year in a row Friday when they asked the Hamden town clerk for a marriage license. But the lesbian couple of 20 years expects to marry in Massachusetts anyway, where a high court ruling will extend marriage rights to gay couples in May. Heiskell and Zaya will surely be one of several Connecticut couples that cross the state line for nuptials, posing several questions. How will Connecticut recognize these marriages? "If you ask 10 different experts, you’ll get 10 different answers," said state Rep. T.R. Rowe, R-Trumbull. Rowe has submitted a proposed state Defense of Marriage Act that would prohibit Connecticut from honoring same-sex marriages. A federal DOMA passed in 1996 is supposed to protect states from having to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Several states are being forced to confront the same-sex marriage issue from all angles this Valentine’s weekend. The Massachusetts legislature is considering a measure that would undo its high court’s ruling through an amendment, but it could take two years for that to happen. In San Francisco, city officials began making a major statement this past week by issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, despite state legislation that defines marriage as a union between a man and woman. Federal officials are contemplating a constitutional amendment — a rare occurrence — that would prevent any state from extending marriage rights to gay couples. In Connecticut, legislators who support marriage rights to gay couples will put off plans to propose legislation again this session because of a distracting state corruption scandal. Legislators here who support the proposed state Defense of Marriage Act don’t expect it to be heard because gay marriage proponents control the committee that decides whether to consider the DOMA. MASS. EXODUS When Vermont created civil unions, gay couples here didn’t rush to that state to exercise the right because it didn’t grant full-fledged marriage rights. The Massachusetts ruling is the real thing, and will most likely lure gay couples there in droves. "There’s nothing in Connecticut law that would prohibit the state from recognizing those marriages," said Anne Stanback, president of Love Makes a Family, a state coalition to expand Connecticut’s marriage laws to gay couples. Stanback expects litigation soon after couples return here from Massachusetts and California. Before then, she expects a patchwork of other forms of recognition: Perhaps employers will recognize the marriages as valid or retail businesses will honor family discounts. "It would be very confusing if one state agency recognized that marriage for a particular purpose and another state agency did not," Stanback said. Brian Brown, director of the Family Institute of Connecticut and a DOMA supporter, said Connecticut is immune to recognizing same-sex marriages from Massachusetts because it already defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman. "The statute has already been held up in court," he said, citing the state appellate court’s dismissal of Rosengarten vs. Downes. The late Glen Rosengarten of Connecticut tried to dissolve a Vermont civil union here before his death, but the courts dismissed it, mentioning several times in a written decision that Connecticut defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. But Brown said the state must pass a DOMA to clear up any lingering ambiguity. As for last week’s California marriages, "What happened was illegal and the marriage certificates are worth nothing but the paper they’re printed on," Brown said. State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, a major proponent of marriage rights for gay couples, expects the Massachusetts gay marriages to be honored in Connecticut. He said Massachusetts already recognizes out-of-state marriages that Connecticut would’ve otherwise not supported, except for outlawed marriages involving minors. Such weddings would include quickie Las Vegas weddings or weddings without blood tests. "People move here and those are all recognized," Lawlor said. INEVITABLE? From March 1996 to this month, the percentage of people who believe gay couples should be allowed to marry has increased from 27 percent to 36 percent, according to a national Gallup poll. Lawlor said the increase — though modest — is promising for the expansion of marriage rights for gay couples. Rowe said Connecticut is vulnerable to gay marriages performed out of state because Connecticut is one of the 12 states that doesn’t have its own DOMA. "There will be considerable litigation on this, if in fact same-sex couples are allowed to marry in Massachusetts come May." Lawlor said he will not propose a marriage rights bill for same-sex couples this legislative session. "I’d rather do it now, but it’s a little bit complicated," said Lawlor, who now serves on a committee investigating the corruption scandal surrounding Gov. John G. Rowland. "This is the short session of the legislature, plus we’re pretty occupied." Despite thousands that turned out for a Feb. 8 rally in favor of a state DOMA, Lawlor has said the marriage rights are inevitable. Rowe has proposed a state DOMA, but doesn’t expect it to come up because Lawlor heads the judiciary committee that would be responsible for hearing it. "(Lawlor) and the co-chair have a pretty unfettered authority over what gets heard and doesn’t get heard," Rowe said. "Without willingness on their part to afford a public hearing on the DOMA, I don’t anticipate there’ll be a hearing or a judiciary vote on it." The deadline for the DOMA proposal to be heard is Friday. Rowe said he’s contemplating submitting the measure as an amendment to another bill on the floor of the house. "It makes it a bit more difficult, but plenty of legislation gets through (that way)," Rowe said. Most agree it will take longer than May — when gay couples can start marrying in Massachusetts — to enact a Connecticut DOMA. Meanwhile, gay couples haven’t had the chance to challenge the federal DOMA yet, creating more murkiness about the fate of gay married couples. President Bush and others are considering an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would supercede the DOMA, crushing the possibility altogether of gay couples marrying. There have been only 27 federal constitutional amendments in history, and it’s a major undertaking. It would require a two-thirds vote by both congressional houses, and the ratification by 38 states (three-quarters of the nation), said Mark Dost, a Waterbury attorney who serves on executive committees for three sections of the Connecticut Bar Association, including estates and probate, elder law and human rights. "I think there’s substantial support for it, but I don’t know when it would happen," Dost said. "The U.S. Constitution being amended is very rare." Dost said couples will not be able to argue that they have a constitutional right if there’s an amendment. He predicts that any same-sex marriages in Massachusetts would be declared null and void and downgraded to civil unions. "The partners may claim a status has been unconstitutionally taken from them, but my guess is they’ll probably lose on that, but we’ll find out," Dost said. Heiskell, meanwhile, wants to weed out the confusion to solidify her marriage with Zaya once and for all. "I’m excited about what’s going on right now," she said. "We hope to get to the step where we understand what this means." Tara York can be reached at 789-5714, or tyork@nhregister.com .

MCC's TROY PERRY AT FREEDOM TO MARRY EVENT IN LOS ANGELES
On Thursday morning, Rev. Troy Perry and his partner Phillip Ray DeBlieck, along with Robin Tyler and her partner Diane Olson, and famed attorney Gloria Allred, participated in a public marriage license action at the Beverly Hills Courthouse in Los Angeles.
 
Following the action, a press conference was held on the steps of the Beverly Hills Courthouse. Press turnout was significant, with seven TV camera crews, including CNN, MSNBC, local and national (US) camera crews from NBC and ABC and local TV crews from Fox News Network, CBS, KTLA, and KCAL -- reporters and still photographers from the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Daily News, and two Spanish-language newspapers, a reporter from the Associated Press, radio representatives from National Public Radio, and three of the largest news radio stations in Southern California.

Here is a news report on the event as reported by Los Angeles NBC 4 TV:

N B C   N E W S :
Two Gay Couples Denied Marriage Licenses In Beverly Hills
National Lawyer Says She Will File Suit

On-Line At:  NBC 4 - News - Two Gay Couples Denied Marriage Licenses

LOS ANGELES -- Two gay couples were denied marriage licenses Thursday in Beverly Hills, leading a local attorney to announce she will sue to challenge the ban on gay marriages in California.

Feb. 12 is recognized by gay-advocacy groups as National Freedom to Marry Day, and several groups encouraged gay couples nationwide to go to courthouses and apply for marriage licenses today.

The date was chosen because of its proximity to Lincoln's Birthday and Valentine's Day, which "links equality and love," said the Rev. Troy D. Perry, one of the people taking part in Thursday's action at the Beverly Hills Courthouse.


Perry, the founder of the Metropolitan Community Churches, is the first openly gay member of the Los Angeles Human Rights Commission and a past delegate to the White House Conference on Hate Crimes.

Perry said he and his partner Phillip Ray DeBlieck had a "Holy Union Ceremony" in the United States, and said they were legally married in Canada last July.

But Perry and DeBlieck -- along with lesbian rights activist Robin Tyler and her partner, Diane Olson, granddaughter of former California Democratic Gov. Culbert Levy Olson -- were denied marriage licenses Thursday in Beverly Hills.

Instead, officials gave them fliers detailing California's same-sex marriage ban.

"We're not going to the back of the bus. We're not not getting on the bus, we're not not sitting at the lunch counter, we're just not taking civil union, domestic partnership, we're just not taking it anymore," Tyler said.

Attorney Gloria Allred said she will sue to challenge the gay marriage ban, adding that she plans on pursuing the case all the way to the California Supreme Court.

"It's time to make a legal challenge," she said. "And so we will be filing the lawsuit. There is no precedent. There are no appellate cases in California on this issue, and so we think it's long overdue and we're going to fight that fight now."

Perry said he was disappointed by Thursday's action.

"The only difference in our relationship between everybody else's in California is our sex," he said. "It's who we are. We pay taxes for everybody else's kids to go to school, which we don't mind, but we want equal treatment."

Although California does not recognize same-sex marriages, a law enacted by former Gov. Gray Davis gives domestic partners most of the legal rights and responsibilities of married couples.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers are meeting Thursday to discuss an amendment to the state constitution that would nullify the state high court's decision last week allowing gays and lesbians to wed.

Michigan gay couples denied licenses.
Jennifer and Erin Adriel were married in Canada last year after law changes there allowed for same-gender unions. What the Ferndale couple wants is the same right to legally marry in the United States. Mark Bidwell, a minister for the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit, was also turned away at the clerk's counter for a marriage license for himself and his partner. "We'll be back next year and the year after," Bidwell said. "Perseverance is very important for us." Click here for full article...

For the second year, they and other same-gender couples showed up Friday at the Oakland County courthouse seeking a marriage license. What they got was a polite "no" and a copy of the Michigan state law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. "Same as last year," Erin said.

Their attempt is part of National Freedom to Marry, an annual effort typically held on or around Valentine's Day to seek equality in marriage laws.

"Valentine's Day is a significant day to recognize the love between two people," Jennifer Adriel said. "We're asking that we be afforded the same civil union rights as our next door neighbors so we can continue to care for each other." Legal same-gender unions would allow the same rights for hospitals, insurance and tax benefits, they say.

"We treated them with respect and indicated according to state law that we were unable to allow them to fill out a contract for marriage," said Oakland County Clerk G. William Caddell. "We follow the law." The Oakland County event came a day after municipal officials in San Francisco performed same-gender marriage ceremonies, which are likely to be invalidated next week. And in Massachusetts, same-gender civil unions are allowed beginning in mid-May, unless lawmakers are successful in changing the state constitution to ban them. The federal government and 38 states have either laws or constitutional amendments banning gay marriages.

In Michigan, conservative state Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, and Rep. Gary Newell, R-Saranac, have introduced constitutional amendments in both chambers of the Legislature in the hopes of preventing legal challenges to state law from prevailing in the courts.

It takes a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate for the amendment to appear on November's ballot.

Mark Bidwell, a minister for the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit, was also turned away at the clerk's counter for a marriage license for himself and his partner. "We'll be back next year and the year after," Bidwell said. "Perseverance is very important for us."
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Charles Crumm is a reporter for the Daily Oakland Press in Pontiac.

My Daddy and Papa are getting married -- at church
First same-sex wedding with license held in a California church

San Francisco - "My Daddy and Papa are getting married," said D.J., who is just five years old, when the Pastor asked her if she understood what was happening on Thursday afternoon last week in the Sanctuary at MCC San Francisco (MCCSF). While hundreds of same-sex couples took their vows at City Hall, Rusty Davis and Mark Clem felt compelled to take their license, and their daughter D.J.  to their church and have their union blessed. Theirs is the first same-sex wedding license to be solemnized in a California church.

"MCCSF has been doing same-sex weddings for over 30 years, but never with a civil marriage license to sign," said Rev. Dr. G. Penny Nixon, MCCSF's Senior Pastor. "We have finally tasted the equality and felt the recognition that so many other citizens can take for granted."   

Rusty Davis rushed to City Hall on Thursday from the church, where he serves meals to the homeless and hungry.  He joined his partner, Mark Clem, and their daughter D.J. and had the license back to MCC by five o'clock for a ceremony conducted by the Rev. Terri Echelbarger.  The ceremony was witnessed by a heterosexual couple, and about 25 guests and volunteers of the meal program.  The newlyweds, and D.J., are honeymooning in Maui this week.

MCC San Francisco is a beloved community joining together from diverse spiritual backgrounds and ministering primarily within the lesbian/ gay/ bisexual/ transgendered communities as a house of prayer for all people and a home for queer spirituality. Our vision is a transformed world, where all life matters and every person belongs.

Further Reflections on the first legal same-sex marriage in a California church by Rev. Terri Echelbarger :
"Normally, Rusty helps serve meals to the homeless and hungry on Thursdays, but this Thursday he left the church in a rush, right after shopping for the meal. The news had come that the city was issuing marriage licenses and he wanted his family to be a part of this opportunity. He and Mark had talked about it the day before, when Mayor Newsom had announced his intent, and they in turn had talked to their 5 year old daughter D.J. about it. She wanted to be the flower girl when the time came.

I told him that they could stop issuing them anytime - that he should have his license 'solemnized' at city hall by officials there . otherwise, his family might miss the window to file the certificate. He didn't care, he wanted to get married in the Church - and he wanted me to do it. He wanted the guests and volunteers who serve meals to be invited. He wanted to do it that very night. the call came from city hall to say "we'll meet you there are 5 pm". We told the volunteers and guests when Rusty would return, and many intended to stay.

By 5 pm a group of about 25 had gathered, volunteers, homeless, housed and not, church folks, friends, all waiting for the family to arrive and by Thursday afternoon I had performed what is very likely the first legal same sex civil and religious marriage in the California at the Church (5:20 pm). I asked the daughter during the ceremony if she understood what was happening, and she said, 'my daddy and papa are getting married' - clutching flowers tightly in her hand, and 'someday I get a wedding dress!' A wedding dress is not every little girl's dream, but it is not an uncommon one.

The official witnesses were a straight couple, happy to be a part of it all. We used the same scripture used in so many weddings from the book of Ruth, but seldom with credit to the speakers. It was Ruth who said to Naomi, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will by my people and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried."

 Rusty, Mark, and D.J. too were making this commitment to each other. On Friday I rushed to city hall with the certificate in hand for the wedding on Thursday night - trying to have it certified and filed before the court could halt the proceedings, and indeed the court session did come to order early in the day. I found out that the city had shortened the 6-week time period between filing your license and getting a copy to about 5 minutes. I dropped off the license, they said 'how many copies' and I bought two. One for the couple, and one for my scrapbook.

Rev. Dr. Penny Nixon was reflecting this past Sunday that she never sees those certificates framed in straight households - supposing some take the right and recognition for granted in so many ways. Regardless of the outcome of the fight to come I suspect many certificates will be framed and hung on walls as evidence of this weekend of truth telling."  ###

Same-sex couples receive blessing
Freedom to Marry Week at Eternal Joy Metropolitan
By Rob Modic - Dayton Daily News

DAYTON -- Ken McLaughlin and Ted Tredick have been together for nearly 25 years, but on Sunday they stood in front of their congregation and 13 other couples who joined them to receive blessings of their relationships at the Eternal Joy Metropolitan Community Church.
 
McLaughlin, 73, and Tredick, 69, of Kettering said they participated on the day after St. Valentine's Day in support of Freedom to Marry Week. "We had a blessing some years back, our 10th," McLaughlin said, noting both men have been active in the church during the last quarter century. This year, the men said they are considering going to Massachusetts to take their formal vows in June to commemorate their 25th anniversary, which will be on Labor Day. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled recently that prohibiting marriage of gays is unconstitutional.
 
But Sunday's brief ceremony between the two retirees and the other couples also was meant to stand up against Ohio's Defense of Marriage Act that Gov. Bob Taft signed on Feb. 6. The law reaffirms the state's laws that define marriage as only between a man and a woman. It also denies legal benefits of a marriage to unmarried couples, homosexual or heterosexual.
 
The current state of Ohio's laws and the benefits they deny to gay and lesbian couples also peeved Beverly Neeley, 42, and Becky Marconett, 44, who received a blessing for their nearly two-year relationship. Both women said religion has been paramount throughout their lives. They sponsor weekly Bible study classes at their home, and they attend the church regularly.
 
Eternal Joy MCC, 2382 Kennedy Ave., is a Christian church and a chartered congregation of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexuals and transgendered persons with 300 congregations in 15 countries.
 
"It felt good," Neeley said after the couple huddled briefly at the front of the church with Deacon Brenda DeWinter. Later, they gathered with others in the church basement where they shared cake and soft drinks in celebration. "It's a commitment," Marconett said. Neeley and Marconett said they go by "Mom No. 1" and "Mom No. 2" among Marconett's children, and "Grandma No. 1" and "Grandma No. 2," among Marconett's grandchildren. But Neeley, who leans on a cane and suffers from a crippling arthritic back, offered a bitter observation about what she sees as a government engaging in duplicitous acts. "They notice our money, but they don't notice us as a couple," Neeley said. Neeley said she has declared Marconett's income on her applications for Medicaid and disability payments from Social Security, and she said she believes the processing has been held up because of her partner's income. "If you can't recognize us as a couple, then you can't penalize us financially," Neeley said.
 
The church's four deacons conducted Sunday's ceremony. Each was trained during the past two years in anticipation of the pending retirement of the church's pastor, the Rev. Raeanna Biddle. "The pastor made sure we knew how to preach and teach before she collared us," Deacon Betty Wilson said. In past years, Biddle sometimes performed civil unions for couples at her church. That's a step between Blessing of Relationships and marriages, the deacons said. But that ceremony is reserved to ministers, so the deacons decided to go forward with the Blessing ceremony this year.
 
"It's about sharing each other and living together, promising to be with each other in good times and bad, and to nourish each other," DeWinter said. "We're all created by God."

Bureau turns away gay marriage ban protesters
No attempts made for license in Ross County:
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - chillicothegazette.com

By CARRIE SPENCER and DANIEL PRAZER
Associated Press Writer and Gazette Staff Writer

COLUMBUS -- Despite the rush of gay and lesbian couples nationwide rushing to courthouses in a Valentine's weekend desire to get legally married, no gay couples tried to get a marriage license in Ross County, said Probate Judge Richard Ward.

Had they, however, Ward said, they would have been turned away since it's against Ohio law to issue the license to a same-sex couple.

"Ohio law, as it now stands, is pretty clear, but in order to get a marriage license from a probate court, it must be a male of the age of 18 or a female of the age of 16," Ward said. "So the statute that we operate under is pretty clear that marriage licenses can only be issued for a male and a female of sufficient age."

A half-dozen gay couples joined the pre-Valentine's rush to get marriage licenses Friday at Franklin County Probate Court but, as they expected, were turned away. They then joined about several dozen demonstrators outside the courthouse, saying Ohio's recently enacted ban on gay marriage promotes bigotry. One picket sign read, "No special rights for heterosexuals."

Ohio's ban increased participation in this year's protest, said the Rev. Margaret Hawk, pastor of New Creation MCC's 60-member downtown congregation. Last year, one couple sought a marriage license.

The protest was one of several across the country. The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a denomination ministering to gay Christians, declares the week of Valentine's Day each year as "Freedom to Marry Week."

No state allows gay marriage, but Gov. Bob Taft signed a law last Friday making Ohio the 38th state to officially bar recognition of such unions and the second to deny some state benefits to unmarried employees' partners. The law, which doesn't affect private business or city governments, takes effect in three months.

San Francisco city officials, defying California's gay marriage ban, issued nearly 100 marriage licenses to same-sex couples Thursday and Friday and continued through the weekend. More than 2,300 marriages have since been performed. Opponents quickly filed two court challenges to block the marriages, the first of which was delayed until at least Friday.

Celebrating commitment; 37 same-sex couples exchange pledges
as debate over gay marriage intensifies. By Gaiutra Bahadur, Inquirer Staff Writer
Philadelphia Inquirer, February 15, 2004

Keisha Spradley got down on one knee. In front of the LOVE sculpture in Center City. On Valentine's Day. And slipped a ring on the finger of her partner, Stephanie Wooten, as she declared: "I love you with all my heart, and I will love you the rest of my life." The Delran couple exchanged vows - echoed by three dozen other same-sex couples in a "mass commitment ceremony" yesterday - as politicians in Massachusetts and San Francisco and on the campaign trail drew swords in the gay marriage debate. The moment was as symbolic as the setting, the timing and the rainbow flag peeking out from under Robert Indiana's famous sculpture.

"We are only here to celebrate their commitment to each other," said the Rev. Jeffrey Jordan, of Philadelphia's Metropolitan Community Church. "We cannot marry them." That legal right may exist as early as May only in Massachusetts, where the state's Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that denying same-sex couples a marriage license violates the state constitution's equal protection clause.

The Philadelphia ceremony, the first like it here in a decade, was organized by a coalition of churches and interfaith groups that welcome gays and lesbians. The tone was intimate and emotional, with 37 couples looking into each other's eyes, holding hands, and declaring that they will be faithful. But the ceremony was also distinctly political, a signal to legislators in Massachusetts and to the White House in protest of proposed state and federal constitutional amendments that would ban gay marriages. "What you are standing for here today is not only your covenant relationship," the Rev. Karla Fleshman, of the Imago Dei Metropolitan Community Church in Media, PA, told the couples. "Same-sex couples are having holy unions regardless of what legislatures and courts do. We have our families," she said later. "What we don't have is equal protection under the law to keep our families protected."

As for Spradley, 31, and Wooten, 32, yesterday's ceremony in the crush of other couples - surrounded by friends snapping photos and family members dabbing back tears - was a rehearsal. They have scheduled Dec. 31, 2005, as their wedding date at Metropolitan Community Church in Philadelphia. "We want to take our time," Wooten said, "and do it right.". Contact staff writer Gaiutra Bahadur at 856-779-3923 or bahadug@phillynews.com.

Rally musters support for gay, lesbian cause
Protest at the State House focuses on advocating same-sex marriage
by Christina Lee Knauss, Staff Writer- The State, Columbia, SC February 15, 2004

Cold rain did not keep about 70 people from turning out at the State House Saturday morning to show their support for allowing same-sex couples to marry. The "Freedom to Marry" rally was organized by the South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement as part of local observances of Freedom to Marry Week, a national initiative to raise awareness about marriage for same-sex couples. Two ministers and local gay-rights activists spoke at the rally. The general themes were support of gays and lesbians in committed relationships and criticism of state and federal lawmakers who want to ban gay marriage.

"The love we bring to the altar is already equal - what we ask for is equality in marriage from our government," said the Rev. Andy Sidden, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Columbia, which ministers extensively to the gay and lesbian community. Sidden planned to officiate at the wedding of two Columbia men Saturday afternoon. Similar rallies were held Saturday in more than 20 cities across the country. In San Francisco, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up outside City Hall to receive marriage licenses after that city's mayor earlier this week authorized granting the licenses for same-sex couples.

Saturday's rally in Columbia came after a weeklong series of activities by the Columbia-based Pride movement. On Thursday, five same-sex couples showed up at a Columbia courthouse and attempted to apply for marriage licenses. They were denied. The rally had a touch of Valentine's Day cheer. Multicolored strands of crepe paper ran down the Capitol steps. Heart-shaped balloons were tied on light fixtures and on the statue of George Washington that stands on the staircase. Many at the rally spoke against proposed new S.C. laws against gay marriage. State law already prohibits same-sex unions, but the proposed legislation would prevent same-sex couples married in other states from getting benefits in South Carolina.

Some drove in from Myrtle Beach and the Upstate to attend the rally. Larry Candler, 63, made the trip from Greenville with his wife and two other people who are members of that city's chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. "I have three gay children, and what the state is about to do with this bill would discriminate against them," Candler said. "They work, they pay taxes - and this will discriminate against them and a whole segment of our community. It's all about equality." Some at the rally acknowledged they face a difficult fight in South Carolina, not just on political but on religious grounds. Members of many established state churches, including the 700,000-member South Carolina Baptist Convention, are vocal in their opposition to gay marriage and homosexuality, which many Christians believe is a sin.

On Saturday morning, about a dozen people protested against gay marriage and homosexuality in front of the State House. They stood along Gervais Street in front of the Confederate memorial and held signs up for passing drivers to see. One banner read "SODOMY IS A SIN." The Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge of Sumter and her partner, Wanda, were one of the couples who attempted to get marriage licenses Thursday. On Saturday, Chellew-Hodge told those at the rally not to resort to anger or hatred toward people who oppose homosexuality and same-sex marriages.

"Many of them are good, decent spiritual people who simply can't see beyond their prejudice - show grace, mercy and love toward people who disagree with you," Chellew-Hodge told the gathering. Columbia resident Alvin McEwen, 33, said he wished S.C. legislators would focus their attention on the plight of foster children and the poor instead of fighting gay marriages. "The people gathered here this morning - young, old, black, white - demonstrate that all the lies and myths about gay people are incorrect" McEwen said. "This rally for marriage is not about sex - it's about equal rights."

Freedom to Marry Announces Voices of Equality
Freedom to Marry Coalition chose today – National (US) Freedom to Marry Day – to announce its initial slate of Voices of Equality. The group includes two members of Congress, a Pulitzer and Tony award winning playwright, and five clergypersons, including MCC's Founder and Moderator, Rev. Troy D. Perry.

Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality for same-sex couples in the U.S. The group’s Voices of Equality “speak out for an end to discrimination in civil marriage and bring the weight of their influence and expertise to the fight,” says Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry.

Wolfson announced the following members of Freedom to Marry’s Voices of Equality:

“We are honored to have all of these impressive and generous leaders lend their voices toward marriage equality for same-sex couples,” Wolfson says.  “Their involvement significantly enhances our movement and further empowers our work.  They help create an environment in which everyone can do the right thing -- making civil (legal) marriage equality a reality.”

NOTE:  Thanks to everyone who is taking part of this week's Freedom To Marry events. Thanks, too, for sending your event updates and news clippings to become part of our historic archive of the struggle for same-sex marriage rights. Your efforts during Valentine's Day Week 2004 -- and your efforts in the days ahead -- will help bring marriage equality to all LGBT people.   

For Additional Information, Contact:
Jim Birkitt, Director of Communications
MCC Communications Department
8704 Santa Monica Boulevard, Second Floor
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 360-8640, Ext. 226 or 228
E-Mail: info@MCCchurch.org