Welcome from Reverend Elisheva

This is the first blog posting on the Rainbow website. The article is meant to inform couples who are considering a commitment or marriage (where allowed) to become fully acquainted with current opportunities.

Couples who have already joined in commitment or marriage may want to take note of the HRC links also, in order to stay current on movement toward equality.

Several questions, which are constantly asked, are restated and answered in the article. Remember – each generation arrives at a moment of interest in commitment. We often forget that many young LGBT couples have no idea as to how to begin their search for information, especially when raised and isolated in many religious environments.

Perhaps this blog will allow that opportunity to assist the “older” generation and allow the younger group to become better educated. In due course this blog will offer significant links for extended guidance.

Blessings…Rev. Elisheva

A Personal Note Regarding Same-Sex Marriage

Many young same-sex couples who have not been keeping up with the changes over the last few years often write and ask:

1. How do I obtain a marriage license to marry in state X, Y, Z, etc.?
2. If I legally marry in state X, will the marriage be honored in state Y?
3. If we move from a state where same-sex marriage is prohibited to a state which allows marriage, what is the residency requirement?
4. Do you provide a certificate for a commitment which has legal standing?

Questions 1 & 2 above will be discovered in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) websites below. Question 3 above is a specific question for the state, although the HRC office in Washington, D.C. will be able to direct and answer your inquiry.

Regarding question #4 above, we do perform commitments in many states, mostly in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia. These commitments carry no legal standing; they are ceremonies to celebrate your commitment to your partner before supportive family and friends. The certificate is provided as a valued commemorative of that special occasion in your lives.

There are many more questions, generally from young people who have just been exposed to considerable possibilities in the equality struggle for same-sex couples. Many couples believe that the opportunities are much wider than they thought. There is no greater time than now to become active and move the opportunities forward and to secure the ground which has been won.

Please review the two websites for late information on Statewide Marriage Prohibitions and Marriage Equality and Other Relationship Recognition Laws. Both charts are provided by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). For details and very latest information, please use the offices of the HRC. No single force in the country has made a more significant impact for equality for LBGT rights. We are active members of the HRC, and urge your involvement in this never-ending necessity to bring the United States closer to all that it can and should be.
 
     http://www.hrc.org/documents/Relationship_Recognition_Laws_Map.pdf

     http://www.hrc.org/documents/marriage_prohibitions_2009.pdf

Blessings ... Rev. Elisheva