Rabbi who presided over TX gay wedding leads House in prayer
Published 1:14 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2015
- Suzanne Bryant, left, and Sarah Goodfriend hold hands with Rabbi Kerry Baker during their wedding ceremony outside of the Travis County Clerk's office in Austin, Texas on Thursday morning, Feb. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Ricardo B. Brazziell)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An Austin rabbi has led the Texas House in prayer a week after he performed the state’s first and only same-sex marriage — catching staunch opponents of marriage equality off-guard.
Rabbi Kerry Baker on Wednesday cautioned state representatives to pay special attention to those who are marginalized and treat all members of the community equally.
He said, “It’s not enough to do what is good for the majority, but to do what is good for all of us.”
Neither House Speaker Joe Straus nor Republican Rep. Cecil Bell, who has filed a bill to prohibit county clerks from issuing same-sex marriage licenses, were aware that Baker presided over a lesbian marriage last week.
On Tuesday, Bell excitedly celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Texas’ same-sex marriage ban with a birthday cake.
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