STATEMENT OF RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH
I am an Orthodox Rabbi with an Orthodox gay Jewish brother. It has always pained me to see my brother treated differently than any other American. The Supreme Court’s decision to extend full rights to gay Americans is therefore welcome.
Of course, I can not hide the fact that for me as a Orthodox Rabbi the issue of gay marriage is a highly complicated one which is why I have always been in favor of civil unions for all and marriage for none. I do not believe our government should be involved in any marriages. Government should only be in the business of civil unions. They should be available to any two citizens whether they be straight or gay. But regardless, the Court has ruled correctly in affirming the equality of all American citizens regardless of sexual orientation.
With this decision today, it’s my hope that leaders in the LGBT community use this momentum to begin greater advocacy abroad, shining light on the barbaric practices of states like Iran, Qatar, and UAE where homosexuality is punished with death and many are hanged from cranes in public squares. This is an abomination against G-d and man. I salute the state of Israel, which has always afforded dignity, rights and protection fort its LGBT citizens.
Whether or not religious leaders will agree with this decision – and I am aware many will not – it is time to put the issue of gay marriage behind us so we can focus on an even more urgent matter, namely saving heterosexual marriage, which has an astronomical and unacceptable 50 percent divorce rate. As a child of divorce, I have long lamented that the focus on gay marriage to the exclusion of all else has distracted from the broader discussion around the pitiful state of marriage and divorce in general, which causes the destruction of families, dislocation of children, and the pain of spouses fighting in court. Now is time to focus our efforts on rescuing the American family from terminal decline.
Topic: Shmuley Boteach On Homosexual "Marriage" (Read 591 times)