Pelavin: "The stamp of the Divine is present in each and every human being. Loving, committed couples deserve the opportunity to celebrate their relationships and have them validated in the eyes of the law."
Contact: Eric Harris or Amelia Viney
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 23, 2011 -- In response to the Justice Departments historic decision to end its defense of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, Mark Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
The announcement by the Obama Administration, through the Justice Department, that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage act is as welcome as it is overdue.
We know that the stamp of the Divine is present in each and every human being. Loving, committed couples - gay no less than straight -- deserve the opportunity to celebrate their relationships and have them recognized in the eyes of the law.
It is never easy to change course publicly on a controversial issue. The Obama Administration deserves credit for recognizing that it had taken the wrong position, and for forthrightly accounting a new policy.
Now is the time for Congress to repeal the discriminatory law once and for all.
