c. 1999 Religion News Service
Vermont Supreme Court rules in favor of gay couple benefits
(RNS) The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Monday (Dec. 20) that gay couples are entitled to the same benefits and protections that the state provides heterosexual married couples.
The court said it is up to the state’s legislature to determine whether benefits will come through a system of domestic partnerships or through formal marriage.”We hold that the state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law,”the court ruled.
The decision followed a recent Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that ended the possibility of gay marriages in that state. Hawaii’s high court ruled Dec. 9 that the matter was resolved by a 1998 state constitutional amendment against gay marriages. In 1993, Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled that the state was committing gender discrimination when it failed to recognize gay marriages.
Vermont’s decision was highly anticipated because it was the only other state whose high court was considering the issue, according to the Associated Press.
The Washington-based National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called the Vermont ruling historic.”The court’s decision is unique in that it commands that the state give same-sex couples every benefit and protection that it currently provides to married couples,”said Paula Ettelbrick, family policy director at the task force’s policy institute.
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, which opposes giving gay couples rights similar to heterosexual couples, said he was troubled by the ruling.”It’s tremendously disappointing,”he told Religion News Service.”It really is a slap in the face of those that support traditional marriage between a man and a woman.” Vocal supporters and opponents of the ruling said the debate is far from over.”What we’re going to press for is that the legislature will protect the sanctity of marriage between man and woman by at least not authorizing marriage licenses,”said Sekulow, who is based in Virginia Beach, Va.
He also intends to investigate the possibility that a state referendum process could affect the court ruling in a way similar to what happened in Hawaii.
But gay organizations are vowing to work to encourage the legislature to allow gay marriages.”We urge the Vermont Legislature to legalize same-sex marriage because it is the most fair and comprehensive way to comply with the court’s mandate that same-sex couples receive equal treatment under the law,”said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign.
The state decision cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court because the Vermont court based its decision on the state Constitution.
The issue of homosexual marriages has been considered across the nation. At least 30 states have banned them and Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of gay marriage and permitted states to ignore same-sex unions licensed elsewhere.
Cleveland judge rules against voucher program
(RNS) A federal judge ruled against Cleveland’s taxpayer-funded school voucher program Monday (Dec. 20), saying the plan violated constitutional safeguards mandating separation of church and state.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. made his earlier temporary order permanent.
The ruling signaled new uncertainty for the thousands of Cleveland parents who send their children to voucher schools, although students can remain in their current schools while the appeal process continues.
The judge said there has been no attempt to guarantee that state aid supports only secular educational functions at participating schools. He also said parents of students in the program lack a true choice between sending their children to a parochial or secular school because most of the 56 participating voucher schools are religious institutions.
“Thus, the program has the effect of advancing religion through government-supported religious indoctrination,” Oliver said.
Oliver’s decision came as no surprise. Earlier, he had said that voucher opponents had a strong argument against the constitutionality of the program because it appeared to have the “primary effect of advancing religion.”
The experimental program gives children from poorer families the opportunity to attend private schools in Cleveland. More than 4,000 students from kindergarten through sixth grade receive up to $2,500 in tuition vouchers.
Oliver halted the program just before the start of this school year, saying it couldn’t resume until he determined its constitutionality. He later allowed students who participated in the past to continue getting funds while the case was pending.
Clinton unveils expanded guidelines on church-school relations
(RNS) President Clinton has announced expanded guidelines concerning interactions between religion and education, with a focus on helping faith-based organizations and schools create partnerships that”meet constitutional muster.””Finding the proper place for faith in our schools is a complex and emotional matter for many Americans,”the president said Saturday (Dec. 18) in his weekly radio address.”But I have never believed the Constitution required our schools to be religion-free zones, or that our children must check their faiths at the schoolhouse door.” The Clinton administration first released guidelines in this area in 1995. But the latest set of principles also addresses faith-based organizations and schools that are interested in forming partnerships.”Our new guidelines will help them work together on common ground to meet constitutional muster, to avoid making students uncomfortable because they come from different religious traditions, while helping students make the most of their God-given talents,”Clinton said.
A four-page document titled”Guidelines for School Officials, Volunteers and Mentors Participating in Public School Community Partnerships”lists some dos and don’ts:
Schools that form partnerships that include faith-based communities should make sure the programs are secular, include student participants without regard to their religious affiliation, and are held in spaces that are free of religious symbols. Schools should not limit participation in the partnership to certain religious groups and should not discourage or encourage students from engaging in religious activities.
The guidelines also include reminders to volunteers, warning them not to pray with students, preach about their faith, or prohibit or discourage any activity solely because of its religious nature.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington-based advocacy group that had supported the 1995 guidelines, issued a statement saying the new guidelines about church-school partnerships were misguided.”The Constitution calls for a separation between church and state, not a partnership,”said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United.”The administration’s new guidelines are well intentioned, but pose serious practical problems.” Lynn expects it will be difficult to enforce the guideline that churches working in partnership with schools should not engage in religious activities with students, especially when a church is known for”aggressive proselytism.” The new guidelines will be distributed to the nation’s public schools in a mailing that is a joint effort of the Department of Education and the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center. One of the six publications that will be in the packet is”Public Schools & Religious Communities: A First Amendment Guide,”which was jointly published by the center, the Christian Legal Society and the American Jewish Congress.
Marc Stern, a lawyer with the New York-based congress, praised the administration’s new guidelines, which he said are a”short form”of the publication his group helped write.”There’s a risk to all of these sorts of things but there’s also a benefit, which is that you regulate and you prevent abuses,”he told Religion News Service.”The fact is these programs can do a lot of good and if they’re run according to the guidelines, there shouldn’t be any constitutional problem.”
Pope John Paul II to include Nazareth in Holy Land trip
(RNS) Pope John Paul II will include the troubled city of Nazareth in his visit to the Holy Land next March, Israeli officials said Sunday (Dec. 19). The scheduled trip to Israel and territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority, set for March 21-26, was welcomed by Israel’s chief rabbi.”This can be a new page in the relations between the people and the religions,”Rabbi Israel Meir Lau said. Catholic officials in Israel are expected Tuesday (Dec. 21) to confirm some details of the planned papal millennial visit to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. A church announcement on the planned visit is likely to be issued in Jerusalem by Latin (Catholic) Patriarch Michel Sabbah, while a Vatican announcement is expected in Rome. Israeli officials said the pope will bathe in the Jordan River, the traditional baptism place of Jesus; celebrate Masses in Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem; and visit Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. The pontiff will stay on east Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives at a Vatican compound, said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Aviv Shiron. A Palestinian official who asked not to be named said the pope was expected to hold Masses at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the location of Jesus’ birth, and at Nazareth’s Basilica of the Annunciation, traditionally believed to be the spot where the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus. Vatican officials had threatened to bypass Nazareth due to tensions over the planned construction of a mosque near the basilica. They had even hinted that the entire visit might be called off because of the dispute. John Paul will also celebrate Mass at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of Jesus’ tomb. John Paul’s visit will be the first by a pope to Jerusalem since Israel captured and annexed east Jerusalem in 1967. Most other countries and the Vatican do not recognize the annexation. Shiron said it is yet to be determined whether Israeli officials would accompany the papal tour of the contested city, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital. Reform Jews urged to work for tough gun control laws (RNS) Reform Judaism’s synagogue umbrella movement has approved a resolution calling for congregants to actively lobby for”effective gun control.” The resolution, approved by delegates at the biennial convention of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations meeting in Orlando, Fla., urged synagogue social action committees to take up the effort by writing to local congressmen and demanding they back legislation instituting stiffer gun control measures. The five-day meeting ended Sunday (Dec. 19). Before the resolution was approved, UAHC President Rabbi Eric Yoffie said Reform Jews should regard the effort on behalf of gun control as”a solemn religious obligation.” Yoffie said”our gun-flooded society has turned weapons into idols, and the worship of idols must be recognized for what it is _ blasphemy.” He also criticized the National Rifle Association for its”no questions asked”support for relatively free access to guns and called Congress”spineless”for disregarding what he said was the will of 80 percent of the American people who want tough gun control laws. The UAHC has long backed gun control. However, the resolution went further in asking members of the movement’s 875 synagogues to take direct action. Quote of the Day: Cardinal John O’Connor, Roman Catholic archbishop of New York (RNS)”My friends and advisers have told me I should not celebrate this Mass, because my speech gets thick and I lose my place. My answer to that is I can’t not have Mass with you.” _ Cardinal John O’Connor, Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, speaking Sunday (Dec. 19) at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. O’Connor, who missed Mass the previous two Sundays, has been in recovery since August when he underwent surgery for the removal of a brain tumor. He has also been operated on for a blood clot and has endured radiation treatment. He was quoted in the Dec. 20 New York Daily News. IR END RNS
