Date: Fri, 2 Jun 95 12:23:49 HST
To: marriage@abacus.oxy.edu

	MORMONS BACK IN COURT, FILING MOTION
 	   TO EXPEDITE THEIR APPEAL

	On May 31, the Mormon Church in Hawaii filed
a motion with Hawaii's Supreme Court to expedite their
appeal of Circuit Court Judge Shimabukuro's decision
against them.  They would like their appeal decided this
summer in advance of the scheduled Sept. 25 hearing date
for Baehr v. Lewin in Circuit Court.

	The Mormon Church filed in February with Honolulu's
Circuit Court to become co-defendants with the state against
HERMP in Baehr v. Lewin.  They were rejected in March
by Circuit Court Judge Shimabukuro.  The Mormons then
appealed Shimabukuro's rejection to Hawaii's Supreme Court.
Alas, for them, such appeals usually take one year and the
Circuit Court is scheduled to hear Baehr v. Lewin on
September 25.  For this reason, the Mormons have filed for
special treatment.

	HERMP's Dan Foley will provide a brief against
the Mormons' request for an expedited appeal.

	Jim Thomas, editor of the News-Telegraph (a leading
lesbigay newspaper in the Midwest) wrote an op-ed piece 
``The coming storm over marriage'' which predicts disaster
greater than what happened with the military (it was also
reprinted in San Jose's OutNow).  Their email addresses are
newstele@aol.com and jct@netcom.com.  I don't know if they'll
provide email copies of the op-ed piece, but they probably
will honor individual requests.

	Jim's points are clear:  ``we are totally
unprepared'', our leaders are failing us, ``because we
made no effort to hold an internal discussion of the
issue, we will not be unified'', ``We are about to get
creamed.'' THAT's why we have this email network---to
prove Jim wrong by addressing EACH of his points with
effective action.  Let's get on with it!

	Jewish same-sex marriages:  some synagogues now
practice same-sex marriage, and the Jewish Reconstructionist
Movement in America has approved same-sex marriage.
A fuller report is appended.  A special "Mahalo" to the
person who informed me about this denomination, which
includes 2 percent of Jews in North America.


			Aloha!


			Tom Ramsey
			Secretary, Steering Committee
			Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project

P.S.  Every time the Mormons pull some stunt in court,
it costs HERMP much money.  Fortunately, we're good at
treading water for months on end.  Please send (tax-deductible)
donations to GLCC/HERMP, 1820 University Ave., Honolulu,
HI 96822.  Every contribution counts, no matter how small.
HERMP FAX:  (808)926-1000; HERMP telephone:  942-3737;
GLCC main telephone:  951-7000.

	Jewish Reconstructionist Movement

The fourth largest Jewish denomination in North
America, the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement
has approved same-sex marriage.
 
The Reconstructionist Movement is an offshoot from
Conservative Judaism and makes up just over two percent
of North American Jews.  They opened a rabbinical
seminary in the late 1960's and have always ordained
women, gays, lesbians, and (presumeably) bisexuals.
At the rabbinical association meeting a few years ago,
congregations were invited to go ahead with same-sex
marriage (without mandating that they have to.)
 
The Reconstructionists are little known outside of
Jewish circles but are enormously influential among
the non-Orthodox.  The founder, Mordecai Kaplan, is
one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of this century,
formerly a faculty member at the Conservative movement's
seminary.  It is by far and away the fastest growing Jewish
denomination in North America and is fully recognized by
the State of Israel (its converts are recognized for the
purposes of the law of return) and the communal structures
here in North America, like the United Jewish Appeal,
Hillel (campus ministries), and the federation umbrellas.
(In other words, the Orthodox may protest if JRM is 
used as an example of Jews who allow same-sex marriage,
but no one outside of Orthodoxy will claim that JRM
is not legitimately Jewish.)
 
Same-sex marriages are termed kiddushin in Hebrew.

			information sent to Tom Ramsey
			by an email correspondent


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