Date: Tue, 9 Jan 96 08:06 EST From: Maggie Heineman Subject: Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition 201 S. Camac Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-893-9458 fax and voice Dear Community leader: On Wednesday, January 3, 1996 a small group of concerned community members convened to discuss forming an equal rights marriage project in Philadelphia. In attendance was Chris Purdom of the Interfaith Working Group, Maggie Heineman of Parents Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Jude Brandt of the (Quaker) Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting as well as marriage activists Jim Peary, Michael Welch and myself. Sending regrets along with requests to be kept involved/informed were Rita Addessa of the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force and ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal represented by Rabbi Julie Greenberg. From this meeting the Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition was formed. Members of the steering committee will be nominated/named at the next meeting taking place at Penguin Place 201 S. Camac Street at 6:45 P.M. Wednesday, January 24, 1996. This will be an open meeting and all interested persons and organizations are encouraged to attend. Included on the agenda will be a screening of the "Nightline" debate between Evan Wolfson of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Robert Knight of the Family Research Council. Mission Statement The Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition will consist of people and organizations working in partnership with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Marriage Project and it's national and local members of the Freedom to Marry Coalition to achieve the right of same-gender couples to marry legally. We will serve as a local resource for information on same-gender marriage assisting existing organizations by providing accurate up to date information and coordinating strategies. Goals The Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition will work diligently to create and provide positive education and media exposure for the equal right of same-gender couples to marry. Our work will focus on getting gay and non-gay people to understand and support the real-life need for, and entitlement to, the freedom to marry of same-gender couples. For further information please contact the Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition at 215-893-9458. Every effort will be made to provide information, answer questions and enlist the support and participation of people and organizations with an interest in this issue, at our next meeting. Much like the 1993 gays in the military fiasco, local activists have once again been presented with an issue that may not be the first political priority of many existing organizations or politically active members of the non-heterosexual community - same-gender marriage. Every major National Gay and Lesbian Organization has endorsed the Marriage Resolution and joined the national Freedom to Marry Coalition initiated by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund's Marriage Project directed by Evan Wolfson co-counsel in the Hawaii Baehr vs. Lewin case. From the NGLTF to the ACLU queer resources are being used to further this cause. The issue is no longer whether marriage is or should be a goal of the non-heterosexual community. The three couples in Hawaii who initiated the Baerh vs. Lewin suit made their decision and our national leaders have made theirs. The issue is no longer what marriage has historically been, what marriage has traditionally stood for. Marriage is once again being redefined as an institution that, in Hawaii, will be available to same gender and opposite gender couples equally. Traditional definitions of marriage will no longer be valid. History has shown that marriage as an institution is not static. Marriage is no longer subject to restrictions of class, religion or race. Gender restrictions too are about to fall by the wayside. In a matter of months the right of same gender couples to marry will in all likelihood become a reality in Hawaii.Current national polls show that just 35 percent of the public support equal marriage rights for same-gender couples. Utah has already passed an anti-same-gender marriage law. While similar attempts have failed once in both South Dakota and Alaska, the South Dakota bill has already been reintroduced and a new bill has been introduced in California. Of course these laws will be challenged under the United States Constitution which states every state must give "full faith and credit" to the "public acts, records and proceedings of every other state." Whether or not this is the battle we as a community want or would have chosen as a priority is no longer an issue. Same-gender marriage is not going away, its getting closer. The choices we as a community make now will dictate the course of our movement for years to come. We may have better things to do, more pressing injustices to address but the work of creating a climate receptive to same-gender marriage in Pennsylvania needs to be undertaken now. Right this very second our enemies - not our opponents - are working to take the freedom to marry away from non-heterosexual people before we even have it. Now is the time to do the public education and media campaigns to make sure that we KEEP the right to marry after it is won. The following information comes from our Freedom to Marry Coalition partner h.e.r.m.p. - Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project: In May of 1993, Hawaii's Supreme Court became the first in the nation to rule that unless the state can produce a "compelling state interest" for refusing marriage licenses to same-gender couples, such licenses must be issued. On December 6, 1995, Hawaii again made history when the seven-member Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law, formed by legislative mandate, released its final report recommending to the legislature that full marriage rights be granted to same gender couples. "Never before has there been a state commission mandated by a state legislature and appointed by a governor that has recommended full marriage rights for same-gender couples," says Attorney Dan Foley, who represents the plaintiffs in Baehr vs. Lewin, the same-gender marriage case scheduled to be heard again in Hawaii's circuit court in July of 1996. "In fact," adds commission member Robert Stauffer, "it's the first time in any jurisdiction that a body has come together and agreed to the legal benefits of marriage." The Majority report reinforces the idea that the burden for justifying discrimination is on the discriminators, and examines more than 450 rights and benefits now withheld from same-gender couples. One example is a spouse's right to make decisions concerning a deceased partner's burial. If that right were denied a legally married partner, a suit valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars could result. Consequently, Stauffer points out, the combined financial loss alone to each same-gender couple could total in the millions of dollars. The minority opinion report, authored by two members of the commission, puts forth moral reasons as a compelling interest to justify denying marriage licenses to same-gender couples. However, the five-member majority points out, that the commission heard testimony from churches on both sides of the issue, and since the U.S. Constitution guarantees both freedom of religion and the separation of church and state, all churches should have the right to refuse to recognize or to consummate a same-gender union. A copy of the report is available on request from Hawaii state legislative reference bureau( 808-587-0666). Joe Perkinson Co-Chair Philadelphia Freedom to Marry Coalition