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Response from Or Shalom Jewish Community at the Passing of Prop 8.

PROPOSITION 8 ---- A "SHANDA*"

Election Day 2008 seems to hold the promise of progressive change, and inspires hope for a better future. Our joy is tempered, however, by the setback we experienced with the narrow passing of Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage by writing discrimination into the California Constitution.

Or Shalom deplores this discriminatory decision. We resolutely oppose the immorality and injustice of banning gay marriage in the same way we oppose the denial of any other civil and human rights.

Or Shalom has always prided itself on its inclusivity and diversity regarding race, faith,
sexual orientation, class and the myriad of other human differences. Hate and exclusion have no place at Or Shalom and we seek to eradicate those things from our society as well. Or Shalom promotes love as an ideology and as a practice, believing that people who love each other and desire to formalize their relationship should have the right to marry. Part of tikkun olam, healing the world, is ensuring that love can manifest in as many forms as possible.

As a religious organization, we are particularly horrified that this codification of hatred has been so often justified in the name of religious ideals. At Or Shalom, we look to tradition for its teachings of love and justice. We take strength from Genesis 1:27 which teaches that all human beings were created in the image of the Divine, and therefore deserve profound and unconditional respect. We find inspiration in the foundational story of the Exodus from slavery to freedom, and its implicit message of hope that all of human history moves in an arc toward greater freedom. Our religious and human ideals lead us both to the conclusion that Prop 8 is immoral, and to the hope that the injustice it enshrines will eventually be defeated.

We, the community of Or Shalom, in all of our diversity and variety, want to say to our
GLBT members that we are here to support you, and we share your pain and outrage. We resolve to stand with you against this and any other challenge to human and civil rights.

If you feel so moved please send your statements of support on this important issue to
admin@orshalom.org so we can let our fellow members know how we all feel.

*Shanda is Yiddish for an embarrassment, a shame, a scandal.

All major bodies in the Reconstructionist movement have condemned Prop 8 in a joint statement (please see link below).

See: http://www.jrf.org/node/1742

Reconstructionist Statement on Same-Sex Marriage Bans

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College deplore the passage of Proposition 8 in California and similar discriminatory initiatives recently passed in Arizona, Florida, and Arkansas. We are saddened and deeply disturbed by the denial of fundamental human rights—to marry, to adopt and care for foster children—to thousands of gay and lesbian citizens across the United States. We are particularly dismayed by the passage of initiatives that have reversed previously recognized equality for same-sex unions.

Beginning in 1993, in a series of resolutions, the Reconstructionist movement has affirmed the holiness of commitments made by same-sex couples. Religious recognition of marriages does not confer the legal and civil rights and responsibilities bestowed by the state upon married couples. We recognize the right of every religious denomination to affirm its own definition of, and limitations upon, the sacred ritual of marriage. No member of the clergy should be compelled to sanctify any union that is contrary to his or her understanding of sacred text and tradition. But neither should any gay or lesbian citizen of the United States be denied the legal rights confirmed by civil marriage.

We call upon leaders of other faith communities who share the commitment to civic equality and to the separation of church and state in the realm of marriage to speak out against bans on same-sex marriage and discrimination against GLBT people in the realm of adoption and foster care. We look forward to the day when all states will grant equal access to the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage.