The Growing Coalition Against Prop. 8

It seems like every day, there's a list of new opponents to Prop. 8, which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. One day it's Google. The next day it's Steven Spielberg. Then Mary Cheney. And The New York Times editorial board. And Levi-Strauss. And Brad Pitt. And Republicans Against 8, who managed to come up with the most singularly odd revisionist ad announcing their opposition ("Democrats are the only hope for freedom!"). And, appropriate to mention on Rosh Hashanah morning, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.

The board — a collection of leaders from the Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements — this week declared its opposition to the measure, which would amend the California Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. Leaders of the board said they wanted protect the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples.

“For many rabbis, it speaks on a personal level in terms of people they deal with whose lives have been impacted over the issue,” said Rabbi Stewart Vogel of Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills and the board’s president.

The board has more than 290 members. Roughly 120 took part in Wednesday’s vote, the largest number of rabbis to weigh in on such an issue in recent memory. Vogel said Friday that 93% of those who cast votes supported the resolution.

Good Yom Tov!

Calitics is a part of this coalition through our Counter-Fast For Equality. We're giving thousands of supporters the opportunity to sign on to stop the elimination of marriage equality, and donate through the Fast4Equality ActBlue page. We also have a Twitter feed set up. If you send a tweet with the #fast4equality hashtag, it'll appear on our site. So sign up today!