Here is the text of ``A Call to End the Ban Against Gays and
Lesbians in the Military,'' a resolution adopted at the 19th
General Synod of the United Church of Christ. The Synod met from
15 to 20 in St. Louis.

Summary: The President of the United States has announced his
intention to lift the ban against gays and lesbians in the
military by Executive Order in July 1993. Since the United Church
of Christ has a history of supporting civil rights for African-
Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific and Asian
Americans, women, and people with disabilities, we call on the
Nineteenth General Synod and its member churches to advocate for
ending the ban against gays and lesbians in the military.

Background: The United Church of Christ has long advocated the
civil rights of gays and lesbians, ordained openly gay and
lesbian persons as ministers, and encouraged local churches to
adopt non-discrimination policies and Covenants of Openness and
Affirmation welcoming people of gay, lesbian and bisexual
orientation. The voice of the United Church of Christ and its
member churches again needs to be heard in support of the rights
of gays and lesbians to serve in the Armed Forces.

Theological Rationale: All human beings are created in the image
of God. Our sexuality is a gift from God. We should be judged not
by our sexual orientation but by the responsible expression of
our sexuality in the context of community and our covenantal
relationships.

Text:

WHEREAS, the military, as one of the nation's largest employers,
has successfully pioneered the enforcement of civil rights
guaranteed by the Constitution, most notably with respect to
racial integration,

WHEREAS, gays and lesbians have served with distinction, and have
for generations constituted a significant, but hidden, part of
the Armed Forces,

WHEREAS, the ban against gays and lesbians in the military has
been used to rationalize and tolerate harassment, assault, and
even murder of gays and lesbians,

WHEREAS, the Tailhook incident and other incidents of sexual
harassment and assault demonstrate the need to enact and enforce
policies governing sexual conduct for all military personnel,

WHEREAS, the United Church of Christ has affirmed the full
participation of gays and lesbians in church and society,
including a Pronouncement on Civil Liberties Without
Discrimination Related to Affectional or Sexual Preference issued
by the Tenth General Synod in 1975,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Nineteenth General Synod of
the United Church of Christ directs its leaders to:

1. strongly urge the lifting of the ban against gays and lesbians
in the military to the President, the Congress, the Senate and
House Armed Forces Committees, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff of
the Armed Forces and communicate our denomination's position
through the media and to other religious bodies,

2. urge the full, swift, impartial and independent investigation
of all cases of sexual harassment or hate crimes involving
military personnel, regardless of the sexual orientation of
either the perpetrator or the victim,

3. support the development of just and uniform standards of
sexual conduct for all military personnel,

4. assist congregations of the United Church of Christ in
educating themselves and engaging in advocacy for the civil
rights of gays and lesbians.

[The United Church of Christ, with 1.6 million members in 6,400
congregations, is a 1957 union of the Evangelical and Reformed
Church and the Congregational Christian Churches.]

Andrew Lang
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
Cleveland, Ohio
langa@ucc.org