The Proposed Anti Gay Constitutional Amendment

The Proposed Anti Gay Constitutional Amendment

One of the lessons that we have learned from 9/11 is the terrible price that is paid when one group thinks that theirs is the only truth and is willing to go to great extents to punish those who do not agree with them. I was reminded of this recently when I heard of the decision by the NC legislature to create a constitutional amendment against same sex marriage. A law against same sex marriage already exists.
No matter how one feels about same sex marriages, from my perspective as a Jew, writing discrimination against anyone into the NC State Constitution is a very bad idea and could set a very bad precedent. We well remember how the Nuremberg laws in the fall of 1935 deprived Jews of civil rights. As a matter of fact, the two nations who in the past 100 years have persecuted homosexuals the most are Iran and Nazi Germany. I really do not wish that our state be like them.

Some are quick to remind us that the bible calls homosexuality an abomination. How quickly they forget that shrimp, catfish, birds of prey, lobster, false scales and lying speech are also abominations in the bible.

We are also told that homosexuality is a “threat” to marriage and that this amendment will actually save marriages. Sadly, the legislature has devoted time to this issue instead of the problem of unemployment which in our state is higher than the national average. Ask any marriage therapist about the stresses on a marriage caused by unemployment. Unemployment often leads to foreclosure, dislocation and a higher rate of divorce. Therefore, the best way to save marriages in our state is to put people back to work!

As Jews, we believe that each person is created in the image of God. Each individual is a holy manifestation of the Divine.

Ten years ago on 9/11, the Solicitor General for George Bush, Ted Olson, lost his wife on one of the planes. Olson was also one of the lawyers who challenged Prop 8 in California. Last January in an article entitled, “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage -Why same-sex marriage is an American value” Olson wrote: “Legalizing same-sex marriage would also be recognition of basic American principles, and would represent the culmination of our nation's commitment to equal rights.” It is, some have said, the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle to attain the goals we set for this nation at its formation. This bedrock American principle of equality is central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. The dream that became America began with the revolutionary concept expressed in the Declaration of Independence in words that are among the most noble and elegant ever written: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I am very happy that the Board of Temple Emanuel has voted unanimously to oppose this amendment. The vote on this proposed amendment will not take place until May of 2012.

Nevertheless, it is time to raise awareness on this issue.
I am also happy that on November 4, we will once again hold a GLBT Shabbat service.

Our special guest speaker will be Joanna Blotner from the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, DC. We will also have a special presentation by the “NoteWorthy” chorale of the Triad Pride Men’s Chorus. Please bring your friends, including those in the non-Jewish community to what promises to be an inspiring evening!