the facts

MYTH #1: “Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow samesex

marriage ceremonies.”

FACT: No church will ever be forced to marry or bless any couple —

gay or non-gay. Baptist churches don’t have to marry Catholics;

Catholic churches don’t have to marry Muslims, and so on. Because

of freedom of religion, no priest, minister, rabbi or imam can ever be

forced to recognize or officiate at ceremonies for lesbian and gay

couples.

 

MYTH #2: The Bible says homosexuality is wrong.

FACT: We are all children of God. The Bible teaches us that despite

our differences, we are “all made to drink of one spirit” (1 Corinthians

12:13) and “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; and

if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1

Corinthians 12:26).

There are various references to being gay in the Bible, but not one

by Jesus Christ himself concerning sexuality or homosexuality. If you

read the letters of Paul, sure you can find out-of-context mentions of

homosexuality. If you read the Old Testament, you can find some

references there too, but not in the way we live today. Everyone

knows that in the Bible you can also find other verses that have been

used to justify slavery and deny rights to women.

Therefore we must look at the Bible in its totality, and in that way, the

Bible is a message of love and inclusion. Jesus said the two great

commandments are to love God with all our heart and to love our

neighbors as ourselves. At the heart of this teaching is the Golden

Rule: treat others as you would want to be treated.

 

MYTH #3: Domestic partnership does the same thing as

marriage.

FACT: It is false to say that civil union or domestic partnership is the

same as marriage. If it were the same, why would we need two lines

at the clerk’s office? In fact, partnership does not provide equal legal

protections and economic security. Marriage is part of the law of all

50 states, while partnership laws exist in only a few. No couple

should have to worry that their family’s legal status will sputter in and

out like cell phone service when they cross state lines.

And more importantly, compared to marriage, which everyone

understands, who even knows what civil union or partnership means

exactly? Who would trade their marriage for a civil union? Why

should our gay brothers and sisters have to?

 

MYTH #4: Black leaders are opposed to marriage for lesbian

and gay couples.

FACT: Black leaders from Florida to California are supporting

marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Below are just a few of those

leaders from many walks of life:

• Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate

• Julian Bond, Chairman, NAACP

• Alice Huffman, President, California NAACP

• Coretta Scott King, civil rights leader

• Rev. Joseph Lowery, civil rights leader

• Rev. Michael Eric Dyson, minister, author, civil rights leader

• Governor David Paterson, New York State

• Governor Deval Patrick, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

• Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia

• Willie Brown, Former Mayor of San Francisco

• Bishop John L. Selders, Jr., organizing pastor of Amistad

United Church of Christ

• Reverend William G. Sinkford, President, Unitarian

Universalist Association

• Charles Barkley, Former NBA Player & Sports Commentator

• Clarence Page, Journalist

• Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University

• Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Former U.S. Surgeon General

 

[information obtained from here]