Planning ahead
Dear Editor,
I encourage same-sex couples to take advantage of the Internal Revenue Service's new policies regarding same-sex married couples. My partner of 33 years and I plan to do just that.
The mayor of Minneapolis made an excellent case for getting married in his state. He was quoted as saying "You could fly to Minneapolis today and by the afternoon you would be eligible for 111 federal legal advantages."
The mayor's statement suggests that a couple can apply for a license, receive it, and get married on the same day. That is not accurate.
According to Minnesota law, you must appear in person at a service center in Minnesota to apply for and receive a marriage license. Then you must wait five days before you can be married. True, a couple may obtain an exemption from the five-day wait. Unfortunately, flying into Minneapolis from Chicago does not qualify as an emergency.
The statutes of the state of Minnesota mandate equal treatment for all couples seeking marriage. Consequently, it is unlikely that the mayor of Minneapolis can modify the laws of his state to accommodate same-sex couples from Chicago.
If you plan to go to Minneapolis to get married, please factor into your plans an extended stay or two trips to Minnesota.
Judith Markowitz
Chicago
Church and marriage
Gay marriage in Illinois will once again be on our radar screen. Along with Illinois we are seeing movement to equalize marriage in Hawaii. In both states the Catholic Church is leading the charge to deny fairness and promote the idea that good and bad discrimination exists.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois, under the leadership of Cardinal Francis George, will again be leading the opposition to passage of same-sex marriage this fall. The clarion call of Catholic Teaching supposedly supported by natural law is that homosexuals are morally disordered will be the rally call.
Look for George to bring the discussion of marriage equality under the mantle of lust and chastity when he needs examples of virtue and vice. He may not be as honest as Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu when he openly promotes discrimination against the LGBT community, but no less effective with his anti-gay view of the world.
The cardinal has no problem promoting discrimination in the name of God; however, the courts do not look as kindly on it, as was made clear by the DOMA decision.
"Upholding a lower-court ruling, the New Mexico Supreme Court held that the company's refusal was an act of discrimination," according to the Wall Street Journal's law blog. "They rejected the argument of the devout Christian owners of Elane Photography who claimed they had a free speech and religious right not to shoot the ceremony."
George will be using the Archdiocese Gay and Lesbian Outreach (AGLO) ministry as a cushion for the injustice directed at the LGBT Community, as if such an official organ of the Archdiocese could seek to promote the wellbeing of Catholic LGBT people with such deceptions. This organization will be silent on same-sex marriage, thereby giving the cardinal room to promote his nonsense that by supporting discrimination against same-sex marriage he is actually showing love towards the LGBT community, and believe it or not the board of directors of AGLO has drunk the same Kool-Aid.
While many in our community were heartened by Pope Francis' recent statement concerning gay priests and judgment, it must be balanced with Lumen Fidei, a recent encyclical written both Benedict XVI and Francis wrote. In section 52 of the encyclical, "Faith and the Family," he calls the family the "first setting in which faith enlightens the human city"—a political-theory reading of the church's interest in the institution. Indeed, "I think first and foremost of the stable union of man and woman in marriage," he explained.
The majority of lesbian and gay Catholics understand that the Church is hostile to both our community, civil rights and personal safety. It is time for Catholics to make a difference between the promotion of homophobia, and church teaching. Homophobia, like racism or sexism, is both an evil and sickness.
Joe Murray
Executive Director
Rainbow Sash Movement
