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Hawaii Governor Talks With Rabbis In Deciding On Civil Union Bill

By Howard M. Friedman

AP reported yesterday that Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, who is Jewish and is a Republican, has recently met with two rabbis as she is considering whether to sign or veto HB 444, a bill passed by the Hawaii legislature that allows civil unions for same-sex as well as opposite-sex couples. (Background from Wikipedia.) The two rabbis are on opposite sides of the issue. Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky who leads Hawaii's Orthodox Jewish Habad movement, says that the Torah teaches that homosexuality, and by extension same-sex marriage, should not be condoned or legalized. However Reform Rabbi Peter Schaktman-- whose Temple Gov. Lingle attends-- says Judaism teaches that all people regardless of sexual orientation are "children of God" and they should not face discrimination. He argues: "Civil unions are a legal arrangement. Therefore, anyone who uses religion to oppose civil unions is purely using religion to further homophobia."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 13, 2010 (boomark / email).