The letter below was sent to Senators Patrick Leahy and Dianne
Feinstein, thanking them for their efforts in repealing DOMA. Rev.
Andrew Warner, pastor of Plymouth Church, Milwaukee, along with 24 other
clergy from around our state made their voices heard. (They are all
members of Voices of Faith, a project within Equality Wisconsin Fund.)
Dear Senator Patrick Leahy,
Thank you for taking the initiative to overturn the Defense of Marriage
Act passed by Congress in 1999. As a member of Voices of Faith, a
project within Equality Wisconsin, I am deeply opposed to any law that
excludes or discriminates against members of my congregation.
In 2006, when the State Legislature of Wisconsin proposed a
constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage, my congregation
joined with others across the state to prevent its passage.
Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful.
Since then, however, this coalition has worked vigorously to advocate
for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, and has
helped our members become open and welcoming to them. We have made our
voices strong as an alternative to the often hateful lmessage spread by
the Religious Right.
I believe God's love encompasses all of us. As the creating account,
sacred to Jews and Christians alike, affirms, human beings are created
in the image of God. Overturning the Defense of Marriage Act honors the
human dignity of LGBT people.
Your work deeply matters. As President Reagan once said, "Freedom is
never more than one generation away from extinction. You and I must
protect and preserve freedom here, or it will not be passed on to our
children, and it would disappear everywhere in the world." In that
speech, Reagan was linking the freedom of Americans with the quest for
freedom in communist countries. His point still holds; we must protect
our freedom by protecting the freedom of others because our lives are
interdependent. Your work advances the freedom of all Americans by
ensuring that no Americans are discriminated against.
Sincerely,
Andrew Warner, Pastor
Rev. Curt Anderson, Sr. Minister, First Congregational UCC, Madison
Rev. James P. Bender, Co-Pastor, North Shore Presbyterian Church, Shorewood
Rev. April Berends, Rector, St. Marks Episcopal Church, Milwaukee
Rabbi Marc Berkson, Congregation Emanuel B'Ne Jeshrun, Milwaukee
Rabbi David Cohen, Congregation Sinai, Fox Point
Rev. David Dragseth, Pastor, Lake Park Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
Rev. Christine Emerson, St. Johns Lutheran Church, Eau Claire
Rev. Hope Engeseth, Bradford Community Unitarian Universalist Church, Kenosha
Rabbi Dena A. Feingold, Beth Hillel Temple, Kenosha
Rev. Julie Forest, Unitarian Church North, Mequon
Rev. David Huber, Pastor, Plymouth Congregational UCC, Eau Claire
Rev. Drew C. Kennedy, First Unitarian Society, Milwaukee
Rev. J. Eric Kirkegaard, Pastor, Peace UCC, Kewaskum
Rev. Tony Larsen, Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church, Racine
Rev. Julianne Lepp, Lifespan Minister, Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Eu Claire
Rev. Dr.Rob MacDougall, United Church of Christ, Menomonie
Rev. Don Niederfrank, St. Johns UCC, Port Washington
Rev. Marshall Norman, Sr. Minister, Unity Church of Madison
Rev. Diane Olson, Evangelical Lutheran Chlurch in America
Rev. Gail S. Rautman, Village Church, Milwaukee
Rev. Jamie Washam, Underwood Memorial Baptist Church, Wauwatosa
Rev. Tom Williams, Co-Pastor, North Shore Presbyterian Church, Shorewood
Rev. Georgette Wonders, Bradford community Unitarian Universalist Church, Kenosha
Rev Wendy Woodruff, Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church, Milwaukee
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