Newsweek, a magazine not particularly known as a bastion of raging liberalism, has come under fire for running a cover article on "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage."
The article, which is a fairly detailed scriptural analysis supported with quotes from a variety of Christian and Jewish religious leaders, is not particularly radical. In fact, it's resolutely pro-monogamy and even pretty anti-divorce. It simply makes the argument that the definition of marriage has changed greatly in the past several thousand years, and that trying to look for scriptural pronouncements on marriage is about as sensible as trying to follow the instructions in Leviticus on the proper way to slaughter a goat. It also argues (gasp!) for an interpretation of Christianity based on love and inclusiveness.
This was apparently unacceptable to the right-wing American Family Association, which launched a letter-writing campaign that inundated Newsweek with over 40,000 letters in a matter of days and resulted in the magazine having to shut down the online comments section associated with the article.
The Human Rights Campaign has set up a webpage where you can easily send a personalized letter of support to Newsweek, thanking them for taking a stand on the issue.
After you read the article and send in your letter, it's worth checking out a few other things on their website--particularly a new poll that shows support for gay marriage and other expressions of gay civil rights growing, despite a number of election setbacks across the country. I was also particularly moved by this article (and a follow-up article that covers some of the same ground) from Newsweek editor David Jefferson on his gay wedding.
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