RCA Protests Court Ruling on Same Sex Marriage

The Rabbinical Council of America expresses deep concern over today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding same-sex marriage.

While recognizing the civil rights of all who live in a democratic country as well as the diversity of religious and political opinions in a multireligious society, the RCA rejects the Court’s redefinition of marriage. Marriage is an institution defined by the Bible and subsequent religious codes and it is upon the foundation of traditional family life that our society has been built for millennia.
We are sobered by the response of Chief Justice John Roberts, that “people of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today” and are alarmed about the threat articulated by Justice Samuel A. Alito that the majority opinion “will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy. In the course of its opinion, the majority compares traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women. The implications of this analogy will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.”

We call on the United States government to ensure, in the words of Justice Anthony Kennedy, “That religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths.”

Rabbi Leonard Matanky, president of the RCA said, “We remind all Americans of faith, Jewish and non-Jewish, that no court can change God’s immutable law. We will redouble our efforts to use persuasion to make the case for God’s eternal truths about the nuclear family and the bond between husband and wife. We stand committed not to lose faith in faith itself, and hope that others who cherish God’s teaching will join us.”