Larry, Darryl and Darryl

It's not really anything-for-a-buck reasoning, but Rev. Carter Heyward, an Episopal priest in Cambridge, Massachusetts, published an apology (in the classic sense) of why she performs same-sex marriages.

The short version is that people asked her, she's a lesbian, and she figured it was her duty. With her thinking cap on, she divides up her reasons into:

• Pastoral responsiblity as a priest
  
• Strategy for social change
  
• Canons and prayer book do not forbid marriage between persons of same sex
  
• Political situation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  
• Unity with the church
  
• Different roles to play in the church at this time

Each item has a paragraph with the theology and politics behind it.

She writes:

In this context, I find myself “marrying folks” because, against the tradition of Christian marriage which is patriarchal to its core, marriage between persons of the same sex has become a momentous justice issue in relation to which Christian churches that profess a love for Jesus as Liberator, Healer, and Reconciler should be leading the way.

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That shows how shallow I am. Some straight friends, then some gay friends, asked me to solemnize their marriages. I could. I did.