I love it. It's a step in the right direction, and I'm happy to see a religious group associated with Christianity denouncing discriminatory practices.
The congregation will continue to hold both opposite-sex and same-sex weddings at its meeting house, but will no longer sign the legal marriage certificate for opposite-sex couples. Instead, couples will need to have the certificate signed by a justice of the peace.
Gay men and women who wish to marry, but live in states where gay marriage is either illegal or not recognized, often have commitment ceremonies regardless of the lack of legal recognition. I appreciate that this group of Quakers (and others nationwide) have decided that, if everyone can't legally marry who they wish, then they will only perform ceremonies that are not legally recognized.
"The simplest way to say it is we feel very strongly and very clearly led that in the present time we simply cannot continue to participate in what we believe to be an unjust and inconsistent with our religious testimonies legal marriage procedure," Landskroener said.
Right on.
