A group of more than 700 faith leaders across New York who support same-sex marriage are speaking out in response to the criticism of the language in the Governor’s same-sex marriage bill.

Senate Republicans have voiced concerns that the bill language is too vague when it comes to religious protections, and it is still unclear if they are going to bring it to a vote, or if there are enough votes to pass the bill.

The organization of faith leaders supporting gay marriage takes issue with the argument over the bill language though, suggesting that opponents are “using religion a smokescreen to hide their intolerance.” They go on to suggest that opponents are also misstating what is in the bill.

“…the Governor’s bill specifically provides that no clergy, house of worship or denomination would be forced to perform same-sex marriages or make their facilities available to same-sex couples for marriage ceremonies, receptions or other functions,” they say.

Whole statement is after the jump:

“Our faith traditions teach us that all people are children of God, deserving of love, dignity and equal treatment, and we the undersigned therefore believe that gay and lesbian New Yorkers in committed, loving relationships should be able to protect each other with the critical safety-net provided by civil marriage. We recognize and respect that not all faiths support marriage equality, and agree that it is appropriate that the proposed marriage equality legislation provides broad protection for religious freedom.

Sadly, however, there are some among us who are using religion as a smokescreen to hide their intolerance, choosing to misstate the plain language of the bill and falsely claiming that it fails to protect religious practice. Nothing could be further from the truth: the Governor’s bill specifically provides that no clergy, house of worship or denomination would be forced to perform same-sex marriages or make their facilities available to same-sex couples for marriage ceremonies, receptions or other functions.”

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