The New York Times > Washington > Religious Leaders Assail Amendment on Gay Marriage 

      June 4, 2004
      Religious Leaders Assail Amendment on Gay Marriage
      By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

      fficials of several religious organizations, including the Presbyterian, 
      Lutheran and Episcopal churches, sent an open letter to Congress yesterday 
      opposing the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
      "Although we have differing opinions on rights for same-sex couples, we 
      believe the Federal Marriage Amendment reflects a fundamental disregard 
      for individual civil rights and ignores differences among our nation's 
      many religious traditions," the letter said. The United Church of Christ 
      and the Unitarian Universalist Association, which recognize same-sex 
      marriages, also signed the letter. So did representatives of the 
      Anti-Defamation League, the Union for Reform Judaism, the liberal Alliance 
      of Baptists and the Quakers.
      The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for 
      Separation of Church and State, helped orchestrate the letter. As United 
      Church of Christ minister, he said, "I am disturbed that even though I can 
      perform a religious ritual to unite a same-gender couple, the state won't 
      recognize it because some different religious group thinks I am 
      theologically wrong."
      But Diane L. Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and 
      Democracy, a group that seeks to push the liberal Protestant denominations 
      in a more conservative direction, called the letter "a blatant attempt by 
      left-leaning religious leaders to undercut and intimidate other religious 
      voices." She said the amendment would define marriage in civil law, not 
      religious ritual.


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