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by Linda Brindle, Kairos-Milwaukie UCC, Milwaukie, OR
 Washington State Senate Bill 6239 allowing same-sex couples to marry was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire on February 13 and will go into effect June 7, 2012, unless the issue is forced to a November 2012 voter referendum.
A coalition funded mainly by out-of-state money has been formed to oppose the legislation; however, some of the strongest local opposition comes from the Catholic Church, the largest organized religion in the State of Washington. Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain asked parishes to participate in signature-gathering efforts to force this initiative to a voter referendum. However, not all Catholic churches have chosen to involve themselves in this. In churches that will participate, some members won’t sign, choosing rather to support family and friends who might be adversely affected by failure of the bill.
Washington State becomes the 7th state to approve marriage equality, coming after Connecticut,New York,Iowa,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Vermont and Washington,DC. At the same time Governor Gregoire signed the Washington State bill, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey vetoed a marriage equality bill. He asked legislators to put it on the ballot as an issue for voters.
The Pacific Northwest is generally un-churched, with most residents not members of a church congregation. However, the United Church of Christ has an active presence in the State of Washington. As a denomination, the General Synod encouraged congregations to adopt equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in 2005. That made the UCC the first mainstream Christian denomination to officially support gay marriage. The UCC resolution was passed on Independence Day, July 4, 2005, and Governor Gregoire signed the legislation into law on February 13, 2012, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Continue reading Marriage Equality Law in WA State Threatened
by Will Fuller, Kairos-Milwaukie United Church of Christ
As we worship on Earth Day, 2012, we can take justifiable pride in the enormous improvements in the environmental consciousness of our congregations. We serve coffee in reusable cups, we insulate our buildings, install energy-efficient lighting, recycle our waste and landscape with sustainable plants. Our cars get ever-better mileage, our homes are greening, and our stewardship of the earth is enhanced with science and engineering unknown a few decades ago. We fight for environmental justice, for fair distribution of resources and strong protection of the least of these against environmental degradation, in stewardship of God’s abundant love for all the peoples on precious mother Earth.
And we rightly celebrate this abundance
Continue reading LIVING IN SCAR CITY
by Carol Stirling, Boise First Congregational United Church of Christ
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Roe v. Wade that a right to privacy under the 14th Amendment extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion. Anti-abortion legislators have introduced legislation that would make all abortions illegal and essentially overturn Roe v. Wade. In 2011, over 1,000 pieces of legislation have been introduced and 162 bills have been passed at the state level to restrict access to abortion and/or family planning. During the Idaho 2012 legislative session, Senate bill 1387 was introduced which would require a woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound procedure before the abortion. It would require a medical procedure on a
Continue reading Women’s Rights in a Man’s World
re-posted from the Southern Poverty Law Center By Richard Cohen, President Walking While Black is Still a Crime Walking while black — merely being black — still seems to be a crime in this country.
That certainly seems to be the moral of the tragedy in Sanford, Fla. From the news reports we’ve seen, George Zimmerman appears to have concluded that young Trayvon Martin was “suspicious” based on nothing more than his race and the fact that Trayvon was walking in Zimmerman’s neighborhood.
Sadly, such assumptions are made about black youth every day. And they play out in a million disastrous ways.
They play out in schools across the country, where black youth receive far more discipline referrals than
Continue reading Justice For Trayvon Martin
by Don Johnson, Zion UCC, Gresham, OR
I am not sure this is actual history or not, but I remember reading that at an abolitionist meeting a proslavery white man shouted out to Sojourner Truth, “You are nothing but a flea to me.” She answered, “You are right, but I am going to keep you scratching.” My favorite editorialist is Leonard Pitts, and in a recent editorial he challenged people to read a book, The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander. He is even offering to buy the book and ship it free to people who promise to read it. I decided if it was that important to Mr. Pitts, I could buy the book and read it on
Continue reading The New Jim Crow Challenge
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Washington State Senate Bill 6239 allowing same-sex couples to marry was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire on February 13 and will go into effect June 7, 2012, unless the issue is forced to a November 2012 voter referendum.
