As the DC Council prepares to vote on a bill granting equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian Americans, Rev. Kenneth L. Samuel, Senior Pastor of Victory For the World Church in Atlanta and Senior Fellow of People For the American Way released the following statement:

“The DC Council now has such a momentous opportunity to prove to the nation that marriage equality is indeed the next step toward full equality for all citizens. Equality is not just a democratic principle, it is also a principle of faith, because it values every expression of love and life that God has created. Equal marriage rights for all persons is just another way ofsaying that no American citizens should be discounted, devalued or disenfranchised because of who they are, or who they choose to marry. Religious freedom and social democracy have never been about uniformity, but unity in the midst of our rich diversity. Let’s put aside the parochialisms that divide us and support the principles that make us ‘One nation, under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.’I pray that the DC Council will vote to dismantle the last acceptable prejudice of heterosexism in our nation’s capital, and endorse marriage equality for all.”

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