California Passes Legislation Strengthening Religious Freedoms for Clergy |
| Equality California-sponsored bill affirms that no clergy member will be forced to perform any civil marriage that is against his or her belief system
SACRAMENTO -- The California Assembly today passed the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act (SB 906) in a 46-25 vote. The bill, introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-sponsored by Equality California and California Council of Churches IMPACT, protects clergy from performing any civil marriage that is contrary to the tenets of his or her faith. The bill also protects religious institutions from losing their tax-exempt status for refusing to perform any civil marriage, and deepens the distinction in state law between religious and civil marriage by defining the latter as a civil contract that requires a state-issued marriage license.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics respond to Vatican statement opposing criminalization of homosexuality |
| WASHINGTON,DC—The National Religious Leadership Roundtable, convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, responds to the announcement by the Vatican that it opposes the criminalization of homosexuality. Legislation is currently being considered in Uganda that would make homosexuality illegal and in some cases it would carry a death sentence. Just over the weekend, David Bahati, an Ugandan lawmaker who proposed the bill, vowed to press forward with it.
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Human Rights Campaign Responds to Misleading Claims by Organizations Seeking to Discriminate |
| Washington – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today responded to the “Manhattan Declaration” produced and released by 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders indicating that they will not cooperate with laws that conflict with their beliefs, including those recognizing same-sex couples. The document also references the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) as a threat to religious liberty. Yet ENDA – which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity – broadly exempts religious organizations. The declaration also argues that religious groups that receive public funds to perform social services are unfairly burdened by state and local laws on marriage equality and non-discrimination.
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Article of Faith: It’s time for people of faith to be visible at this weekend’s National Equality March |
| WASHINGTON, DC — Members of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable, convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will participate at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11. What follows is an Article of Faith addressing the importance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, as well as straight allies, marching for equality, but most importantly it is a call for religion to embrace full inclusion and justice for LGBT people.
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Human Rights Campaign Completes "Out In Scripture" Collection |
| WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, announced today the release of the complete “Out In Scripture” collection. For the past three years, week-by-week, the HRC Religion & Faith program provided conversations on Bible passages from more than 100 scholars and pastors representing 11 denominations. These conversations are now available in a complete collection online at www.hrc.org/Scripture.
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