Same Sex Weddings Now Legal in Nine States
Nov. 6, 2012 witnessed four major victories in the fight for complete marriage equality in the United States.
The first of these victories came when Minnesota voters defeated an amendment to the state constitution which would have defined marriage as a legal entity that could only exist between a man and a woman. Over a dozen similar attempts have been made in the Minnesota legislature since in the 1970's, but voters in that state have never allowed its constitution to be changed to affect the legality of same sex marriage there.
More significantly, voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington passed two measures and a referendum to legalize same sex marriages within them. These victories for marriage equality mean that nine U.S. states have now legalized same sex marriages; the others include Iowa, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
Generally speaking, the support for same sex marriage overwhelmed its opposition. In Washington, the Universal Life Church Monastery's home state, more than 53% of voters approved the referendum seeking to legalize same sex marriages there and a record number of individual donors (almost 14,000) helped to get it passed. Donations made in support of the same sex marriage referendum and measures outnumbered donations made against them four to one. Prominent pro gay marriage donors from across the country include New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos who collectively donated $3 million.
The music video for Same Love, a pro same sex marriage song by Seattle rap artist Macklemore.
Universal Life Church Ministers Can Perform Same Sex Weddings
- Conventional religion has failed gay couples by refusing to facilitate same sex marriages. The ULC is different.*
Unfortunately, not everyone who has become ordained is willing to perform same sex weddings. Many pastors and the leaders of the conventional churches they were ordained by and report to have promised to refuse to solemnize gay marriages. Their desire to deny upstanding, loving couples the right to be married is generally based on the appeal to tradition, a logical fallacy which states that gay marriage should be illegal now merely because it was not allowed in biblical times.
Despite the sentiments of their conventionally-ordained counterparts, Universal Life Church Monastery ministers are generally willing to perform same sex weddings. This is largely due to the fact that the type of people who look to become ordained online do not agree with modern churches' views on homosexuality. The ULC administration is also a vocal supporter of LGBT rights and marriage equality; in addition to making donations to gay causes, they actively encourage the friends and family of same sex couples to become ordained through them in order to officiate their weddings.
People who become ordained by the Universal Life Church are capable of providing a valuable service for gay communities across the country. With the absence of many traditional wedding officiants, gay couples who do not want to be married by judges in banal civil ceremonies are able to have their friends and family members get ordained online and perform their weddings exactly as they want them to be performed. The ULC is proud to be able to offer such an important service to gay people across America.
How to Become Ordained with the Universal Life Church
A regular layperson, or someone who is not a member of the clergy, can become ordained within a couple of minutes through the Universal Life Church Monastery. Such a layperson simply needs to visit the ULC's online ordination page and click on the green "Continue Your Ordination" link once they have read the information there. The layperson will then be prompted to enter their full legal name, email address, and mailing address. They will be recognized as a full-fledged minister in 48 states as soon as they receive an email confirming their ordination.
It costs zero dollars to become ordained through the Universal Life Church. This means that you are able to become a minister in a matter of minutes, for free, without ever worrying about having to pay renewal fees. Many states don't even require ULC ministers to present ministerial documentation when they file for marriage licenses, although they do need to purchase documentation from this site'sMinistry Products section for the states that do require them to prove their ministerial identities.
To summarize, it is possible to become ordained online and gain the right to perform a same sex wedding in nine U.S. states, within a matter of minutes, without paying a single cent. If you are passionate about marriage equality and would like to officiate gay weddings, look no further than the Universal Life Church's online ordination.
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