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Reform CA Leadership Letter to Assembly Appropriations - AB 953
The following letter was sent to members of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 12, 2015 by Reform California leadership: Dear Member of the Assembly Appropriations Committee: As part of our “B’yachad: In This Together” campaign, we write to you in strong support of AB 953,
More than Pride: Raising a Voice of Faith Against LGBT Discrimination
Yesterday, we reflected on the pride our Reform Jewish community should have for the great advocacy work we have done on behalf of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) rights over the past
Interfaith Community Expresses Support for LGBT Student Non-Discrimination Protections
Contact: Max Rosenblum or Jordan Dashow
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
Faith Organizations Urge Lawmakers to Take a Stand on LGBT Discrimination
Currently, federal law explicitly protects students from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disability. However, no federal law explicitly protects students from discrimination based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or their association with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The Student Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 846/S. 439) would address this issue by explicitly prohibiting public schools from discriminating against any student based on the categories above.
Coming Out in a Jewish Community: How Our Congregation Embraces LGBTQ Teenagers
On the bimah during his confirmation, twelfth grader Sean Cooper recounted his coming out experience:
When I came out as a homosexual, I posted a picture to Facebook with my father, with the caption “….”. While some may have previously inferred my sexual orientation, that post was my first official public coming out. The next day, I came to my temple, Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, CA, for a meeting of our youth group. I was greeted at the door by Cantor Doug Cotler, the man I have known my whole life, with a warm hug and friendly “I’m proud of you,” and by Rabbi Julia Weisz with a smile and great warmth. Rabbi Paul Kipnes was even more accepting than anyone. His kind and heartfelt acceptance expressed not only his embracing personal views, but also the wide-open arms of the Jewish community.
Passion and Fanaticism
This Shabbat's Torah portion, Parashat Pinchas, begins by referring to an event that occurred at the end of the prior one, when Pinchas, Aaron's grandson, killed Zimri, a scion of the Simeonite ancestral house, and Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite chieftain.