Below are the full remarks I had planned for the March for Equality in San Francisco last evening. The actual remarks I gave were somewhat abbreviated as I took the temperature of the crowd that was ready not to hear my voice, but to have their voices heard in their footsteps and presence. As the Supreme Court has heard oral arguments today about Proposition 8, I pray that there will be justice and equality for all.
Later today I will celebrate the Diocese of California’s annual Chrism Mass, at which I will bless the oils used for baptism, confirmation, and healing. I pray that the Supreme Court reaches a position that will begin the process of healing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people through the country.
I am glad that the U.S. Supreme Court is considering both Proposition 8 and DOMA, for in my mind both of them are about something much more basic and fundamental than the definitely important issue of marriage equality. When one group of people, holding power makes decisions about who a person can love, what is at stake is the question of who is a human being and who is not. Human beings are beings with agency and standing, with dignity that is from within. Non-humans, wrongly or rightly find their lives constrained and determined from outside themselves by those who consider themselves to be proper human beings. It is unthinkable that one human being should be able to control the free choices of other human beings to love and be loved.
The truth of what I am saying is in stark view in countries where the legislative powers have been thorough in their processes. Countries where LGBT people are said not to exist, or are explicitly named as less than human show us the true basis upon which denials of marriage equality rest. Denials of marriage equality rest on the same horrific base as slave laws that treat human beings as property, and allow owners of slaves the rights to determine where their slaves will live, who they will marry, or if even if they can marry, and the disposition of their children and their spouses.
I have followed the teachings of one human being, Jesus of Nazareth who was so clear-eyed about all this. He put himself in harm’s way for the sake of affirming the humanity of outcasts. This is the week in which Christians contemplate the life of Jesus and the cost of his commitment to the dispossessed. As I move through Holy Week this year and towards Easter and the promise of new life, my prayers and outward actions will continue to be committed to solidarity with LGBT people for the recognition of their full human rights. It is undoubtedly what Jesus would have me do. God bless you.
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