June 26 marks the first anniversary of the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States requiring states to recognize and license marriages between two people of the same sex. To commemorate this historic decision, JFSA Pride, a program of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, will host a celebration of marriage equality in the Jewish History Museum’s Einstein-Sim Memorial Garden, 564 S Stone Ave. on Sunday June 26, at 7 pm.
“We wanted to mark a place in history,” says Ellen Freeman, a member of the JFSA board of directors and active volunteer in JFSA Pride. “This is a date to be celebrated.” The event is open to the entire community. “You don’t necessarily have to be Jewish, or a gay couple, or married.”
The event has taken on additional significance in the shadow of the mass shooting at an LGBT night club in Orlando, FL in the early hours of June 12. “The horrific shootings at the Pulse night club, whose clientele is the LGBT community in Orlando, remind us that the struggle for civil rights and human dignity for all is ongoing and does not advance along a perfect upward continuum,” wrote Bryan Davis, executive director of the Jewish History Museum and director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, in a message to the community on June 14. “As a community and as a country, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to cultivate compassion, mutual respect and understanding. … The attack at the Pulse night club was an attack on us all. … Let us stand together as a community against hate crimes, terrorism and intolerance.”
The event includes a cocktail reception, a blessing by Rabbi Helen Cohn of Congregation M’kor Hayim and a proclamation by Mayor Jonathan Rothschilde declaring June 26 Marriage Equality Day, says Ellen.
The celebration begins at 7 pm on Sunday, June 26. Participants may register online at jfsa.org or at the door. A $5 donation is suggested. For more information, contact Gail Barnhill at [email protected].
