Just out., July 02, 2004, Page 7, Image 7

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¡newsbriefs
ove Makes a Family will present two train­
ing workshops on effective nonviolent com­
munication and public speaking skills about
same-sex marriage.
“Speaking Out for Same-Sex Marriage” will
be held from 10 a.m. to noon July 10 at Uni­
tarian Universalist Church of Washington
County, 22785 N.W. Birch St. in Hillsboro,
and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 17 at First Uni­
tarian Church, 1011 S.W. 12th Ave. The pub­
lic is invited to practice and review ways to
engage in transformative dialogue by coming
together with others, expressing differences
and finding common ground.
“We recognize that marriage equality is a
new and difficult subject for many people to talk
about," said the Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod,
coordinator of Love Makes a Family’s Freedom
to Marry Project. “We seek to engage all Ore­
gonians in respectful community conversations
about their families, values and community.”
Love Makes a Family believes the anticipat­
ed ballot measure campaign to enshrine anti-
gay bias in the Oregon Constitution will pro­
vide an opportunity for a dialogue about the
role of family and faith in public life. Accord­
ing to executive director Bonnie Tinker, when
people realize families face real economic and
social hardships because of discriminatory laws,
they become convinced of the necessity of
allowing same-sex couples to get married.
“Love Makes a Family will continue to defend
our families and to publicly declare our love, our
marriages and our faith that democracy has room
for a diversity of beliefs,” she said. “Excluding any
family from the legal rights, responsibilities and
protections of marriage diminishes all families.
All parents should be able to provide their chil­
dren the social protection they are entitled to
through a legally recognized marriage.”
The suggested sliding-scale registration fee
is $25-$5O. No one will be turned away for
inability to pay.
BY MARTY DAVIS
L earn H ow to E ngage
in M arriage D ialogue
For more information call 503-228'3892 or
e-mail cecil@lmfamily.org.
W ashington C ourt U rged
to R ule in F avor
of S ame -S ex M arriage
n openly gay Washington state legislator
filed a ffiend-of-the-court brief June 24 in
support of same-sex marriage.
State Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver,
joined five other lawmakers and a wide variety
of religious organizations, civil rights groups
and bar associations in urging the state court to
rule in favor of treating all couples equally.
Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women’s
Law Center filed the lawsuit in March.
“Today’s filings show that we are not alone.
Legislators, communities of faith and so many
others see that as long as gay couples cannot
marry, they are not being treated equally,”
attorney Jennifer C. Pizer said. “It’s powerful for
the court to hear from such a diverse array of
supporters.” *
Arguing that the state law excluding same-
sex couples from marriage should be struck
down, six legislators—including one Republi­
can, Fred Jarrett—filed a brief saying the “het­
erosexuals only” rule violates protections guar­
anteed by the Washington Constitution.
State Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, says the “heterosexuals only” marriage rule violates
protections guaranteed by the Washington Constitution
Moeller; Jarrett; Democratic state Reps. Ed
Murray and Sandra Romero; and Democratic
state Sens. Debbie Regala and Pat Thibaudeau
all signed onto the brief.
“Building families, expanding civil rights
and limiting the government’s reach into our
private affairs are among my core beliefs as a
Republican,” Jarrett said. “All families should
be encouraged and supported, and I cannot
think of a better way to support all families than
to allow loving, committed couples the right to
marry, and that includes same-sex couples.”
Multifaith Works, with numerous other
religious organizations, argued in its brief that
the state should not adopt one definition of
marriage and that religious freedom is not
affected by recognizing the importance of civil
marriage for same-sex couples. “Promoting
‘moral and religious’ grounds as the basis for the
Legislature’s adoption of [the state s Defense of
Marriage Act] is not a legitimate government
purpose—let alone a compelling state interest,”
the brief said.
Another brief was filed by a coalition of
civil rights groups and bar associations, includ­
ing Loren Miller Bar Association, a largely
Continued on Page 8
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