All Saints Church - Marriage Resolution

MARRIAGE RESOLUTION June 2, 2009

WHEREAS, on November 4, 2008, a majority of the California electorate voted to approve Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to state “[o]nly marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California;”

WHEREAS, on May 26, 2009, the California Supreme Court voted to uphold the constitutionality of Proposition 8, a decision which not only deprives same-sex couples of the fundamental right to marry, but, in the words of dissenting Justice Carlos Moreno, “places at risk the state constitutional rights of all disfavored minorities”;

WHEREAS, the institution of civil marriage in the State of California is, as a result of Proposition 8 and the Court’s decision, a constitutionally-mandated instrument of discrimination, which furthers injustice and denies same-sex couples the fundamental dignities to which each human being is entitled;

WHEREAS, our active participation in the discriminatory system of civil marriage is inconsistent with Jesus’ call to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being; and

WHEREAS, All Saints Church is called to make the sacrament of marriage equally available to all couples, regardless of their sexual orientation;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Rector, Wardens and Vestry do declare that the sacramental right of marriage is available to all couples, but that the clergy of All Saints Church will not sign civil marriage certificates so long as the right to marry is denied to same-sex couples.