Let Love Choose:Marriage equality witness at Gathering

I'm having trouble with pulling my thoughts together cohesively, so I hope this will serve as an amuse-bouche. In the meantime, as an appetizer, Claire at Spiritual Journeys talks about how the High School program of FGC's Gathering made their way to the public witness for marriage equality.

While at the Gathering, I called my partner and asked if anything online from the Roanoke (Va.) Times was written about the witness and rally that FGC and Friends for LGBTQ Concerns had pulled together. Here's what she found [with my corrections in brackets]:

Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Blacksburg, Virginia

Quakers hold rally for gay marriage

BLACKSBURG -- A [bi-]national religious group that considered canceling plans to hold its annual conference at Virginia Tech because of a state law that bans gay marriage and may invalidate wills and powers of attorney between same-sex couples held a "marriage equality" rally on Henderson Lawn on Tuesday.

About 300 attendees of the Friends General Conference [Gathering], also known as [well, really, are made up of] Quakers, gathered near downtown Blacksburg in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples.

"We're not here to tell the people of Virginia what to do ... but be a witness for equality," said Petra Doan, a conference attendee.

Conference organizers planned to hold the weeklong annual gathering of Quakers from around the country [and Canada] at Tech before the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Marriage Affirmation Act last year. That law bans gay marriages, civil unions and any "partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage."

Gay rights advocacy groups say they believe the legislation may void wills and medical and financial powers of attorneys between same-sex couples who live in or travel to the state.

While Quaker organizers say they have no plans to boycott Virginia when planning future conferences, they did consider relocating the gathering of about 1,500 members to another state this year.

"We were concerned about [same-sex] couples and their children who might be hurt by the law," said Tania Lang Burger, one of the organizers.

What if a same-sex couple brought their child and one of them got sick or hurt? Would that couple have access to their loved one at the hospital? Those were just some of the concerns a special Quaker committee discussed, prayed and reflected on when deciding whether or not to move the conference, said Carrie Glasby, a conference attendee and a speaker at the demonstration.

In the end, they decided to come to Virginia and "witness to the truth" of marriage equality, said conference director [that is, the General Secretary of FGC] Bruce Britchard.

This is the second [Friends] general conference [Gathering] the Quakers have held at Virginia Tech. The last gathering was held there in 2001.

No identifiable counter-demonstrators showed up Tuesday and few residents were milling around during the event, which began at 2 p.m.

Glasby, along with her longtime lesbian partner, Kathleen Karhnak, spoke to the group about their marriage in a Quaker congregation[sic] in Pennsylvania several years ago.

The couple also showed off their 5-month-old son, Timothy Karhnak-Glasby to the crowd, which cheered.

While Pennsylvania allows both women parental rights to the child and recognizes their wills and powers of attorney as valid, "there are still so many areas where we have no equality," Karhnak told the gathering. "I hope this message goes out into the world with love."

In addition, singer/songwriter Deidra McCalla shared this song, called "Love Chooses You."

Love Chooses You
Lyrics by Laurie Lewis

Love comes unbidden, can't be forbidden
It takes you and shakes you right down to your shoes
It knows heartache and trial but accepts no denial
You can't choose who you love, love chooses you

In the wink of an eye love looses an arrow
We control it no more than the flight of the sparrow
The swell of the tide or the light of the moon
You can't choose who you love, love chooses you

Tell me now if I'm wrong
Are you feelin' the same
Are your feet on the ground
Are you callin' my name
Do you lie awake nights
Please say you do
'Cause you can't choose who you love
Love chooses you

Love cuts like a torch to a heart behind steel
And though you may hide it, love knows how you feel
And though you may trespass on the laws of the land
Your heart has to follow when love takes your hand

And it seems we're two people within the same circle
It's drawn tighter and tighter till you're all that I see
I'm full and I'm empty and you're pouring through me
Like a warm rain fallin' through the leaves on a tree

Tell me now if I'm wrong
Are you feelin' the same
Are your feet on the ground
Are you callin' my name
Do you lie awake nights
Please say you do
'Cause you can't choose who you love
Love chooses you

No you can't choose who you love
Love chooses you

Blessings,
Liz

UPDATE: Though quite a bit tongue-in-cheek, here's another post about marriage equality, at Beppe's blog.