EAST GREENWICH, R.I. -- Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island has announced its support for legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry in Rhode Island.
Rabbi Amy Levin of Temple Torat Yisrael, the board president, said Wednesday that the statement of support was drafted last week and received "no veto" when it was circulated among all if the board's 24 Conservative, Reform, Orthodox and Reconstructionist rabbis.
The board based its support partly on the "lessons of Jewish history" that "provide us with a mandate to work for civil rights."
It also cited the principle of separation of church and state, saying it was their understanding that the law "should not and will not" require clergy to officiate or recognize the status of same-sex marriage.
By Richard C. Dujardin