Ban Baptist Marriage
June 12th, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Southern Baptist Convention recently and overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 decision guaranteeing marriage equality in the United States. Those of us who are in same-gender loving marriages would be hurt by such an action. We want to remind the Southern Baptists of the Golden Rule by showing them that playing with people's lives and families is harmful and demoralizing.
The Southern Baptist Convention, an influential body within the Christian community, now wishes to dismantle the progress we've made towards marriage equality. This decision threatens to dismantle families and invalidate the love and commitment between same-gender couples who have legally married and built their lives together. These proposals do not respect the dignity and rights of all citizens, and they completely overlook the core Christian teaching of love and inclusion.
Marriage equality is not an abstract legal concept; it is the legal acknowledgment of our love and commitment. By inviting the LGBTQQIAA+ community to pass a resolutiondemanding the annulment of all Southern Baptist marriages, we emphasize the hypocrisy inherent in dismissing the validity of any loving union. If Southern Baptists wish to deny our marriages, they too must recognize the impact of such discrimination.
This petition stands as a symbolic demand, challenging the Southern Baptist Convention to reconsider the resolutions they pass and the actual harm they cause. It is a call to action, asking you to sign this petition and support a reminder to these religious leaders about the principles of fairness, compassion, and equality, and the importance of upholding the rights of all people, regardless of who they love. Please join us in this important cause and sign this petition today.
Companions in the way,
The Council of Bishops of the Global Justice Institute
Bishop Pat Bumgardner, Founder & Presiding Bishop
Bishop Durrell Watkins, Auxiliary Bishop for Communication & Trans* Awareness
Bishop Robert Griffin, Auxiliary Bishop for Africa and the Caribbean
Bishop Jim Merritt, Auxiliary Bishop for Eastern Europe
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