Andrew Sullivan and Gerard Bradley to Discuss Gay Marriage at Pew Forum Event April 28 4/20/2004
From: Heather Morton of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 202-955-5078 News Advisory: On May 17, the state of Massachusetts will begin granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In reaction to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's legalization of gay marriage last November, state lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage but permit civil unions. Lawmakers in numerous other states also are seeking to amend their state constitutions to legally enshrine traditional conceptions of marriage. Meanwhile, Congress is considering a federal constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The actions of public officials in all three branches of government have galvanized Americans on both sides of this debate, and not surprisingly, religious communities have joined the fray. What are the religious convictions at the root of deeply held beliefs regarding the definition of marriage? Should theologically based arguments inform the public debate, and if so, how? In our increasingly pluralistic society, should marriage laws stay as they are, should we separate the civil from the religious dimension of marriage, or should we broaden the right to marriage? The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life invites you to a discussion of the legal and policy implications of religiously informed arguments for and against gay marriage. WHEN: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 10 - 11:30 a.m. (Continental Breakfast Provided) WHERE: J.W. Marriott Hotel, Salon 3 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. WHO: Gerard V. Bradley, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame; filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family in Lawrence and Garner vs. Texas (2003), the Texas anti-sodomy law case Andrew Sullivan, senior editor and former editor at The New Republic; columnist for Time; Washington correspondent for the Sunday Times of London; author of Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality; editor of Same-Sex Marriage, Pro and Con; and blogger at AndrewSullivan.com E.J. Dionne (moderator), co-chair, the Pew Forum, and senior fellow, the Brookings Institution RSVP online at http://www.pewforum.org, or by calling Kirsten Hunter at 202-955-5075. |