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A noontime rally on Wednesday, May 5th 2004, packed the rotunda of the
Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul, as nearly 200 attendees cheered the
welcoming and supportive words of legislators and leaders of faith
communities, who came together to voice their support for basic equality
for GLBT Minnesotans.
Legislative speakers included State Senator Scott Dibble and State
Representative Karen Clark, the openly-GLBT members of their respective
chambers, as well as committed allies Rep. Keith Ellison and Sen. John
Marty. The crowd responded enthusiastically to Ellison's
characterization of the debate on marriage for same-sex couples as part
of a larger campaign to foster government recognition of specific
religious agendas, what he called "a fight for the soul of the country."
Additionally, speakers from various faith communities also spoke about
how their traditions led them to recognize that fighting for equality
for all, including the GLBT community, was part of their calling. Bishop
Lowell Erdahl of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, declared
that for people to use isolated passages in religious texts to condemn
entire communities of people was an "abuse of the bible, an abuse of
religion, and an abuse of people." Rabbi Jeffrey Wildstein of Temple
Israel pointed out that Jewish people, in particular, because of the
history of persecution they have experienced, need to be particularly
sensitive to efforts to persecute others and must avoid being a part of
those efforts themselves. A statement read on behalf of the United
Church of Christ's national GLBT liaison reminded audience members that
they "are not alone today, and not alone in history, because hundreds of
thousands of people stand with you." Michael Bayly of the Catholic
Pastoral Commission on Sexual Minorities declared that an effort to
mandate discrimination in the Minnesota constitution was contrary to the
social justice principles underpinning Catholic teachings, as well.
A simultaneous counter-rally on the Capitol steps, sponsored by the
Minnesota Family Council, drew Senator Michelle Bachmann, chief Senate
sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment, and a small gathering
of members of the Hmong community, which itself has been lobbying for
some time for changes to marriage law to recognize specific Hmong
solemnization rites as legally effective. |
