with roots that run deep into our culture. We have faced so much
discrimination and hate all in the name of God. When I so much as
think about the doctrine classes in my Catholic high school, I
cringe. While many of us have turned away from organized religion
(myself included), not all organized religions have turned away
from us. Notably, I found
this powerful letter to the editor of Erie Times News
which regarding the PA marriage amendment:
The Social Responsibility Committee of the Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Erie disagrees with Pennsylvania
Family Institute’s support of PA Senate Bill 1250 (Erie TimesNews
letter, April 19).Our religious faith affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every
person.Discrimination based on sexual orientation undercuts this
principle.The proposed amendment to the state Constitution would ban
samegender civil unions.It would enshrine, in our state’s most-prized document,
discrimination against an entire group of citizens, and deny them
equal protection.It would infringe on religious liberty, imposing a narrow,
religious definition of marriage on all citizens — one with which
many people of faith disagree.It illustrates a cruel irony about groups that call themselves
“profamily” but would deny gay families fundamental protections,
such as hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights and
health-care benefits.There is nothing profamily about that.
Al Richardson
Erie