MCC in the Valley has a strong commitment to marriage equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Our founder, Rev. Troy Perry, performed the first public same-sex marriage in the United States in Huntington Park, California, in 1969. In 1970, he filed the first lawsuit in the U.S. seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages; and MCC Churches have been fundamental in the march toward Marriage Equality ever since. Rev. Troy Perry had to go all the way to Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto to marry Phillip Ray De Blieck under Canadian law in 2003. Our Pastors, Rev. Dr. Robert Shore-Goss and Rev. Joe Shore-Goss were fortunate, in that they were able to marry during the brief period of time between June 16, 2008 and November 5, 2008, when it was legal in the state of California to do so. We have a long way to go, though, with the majority of the United States and foreign countries still not recognizing, banning, and even criminalizing same-sex marriages.
In 2010, our Pastors were able to take part in a Public Service Announcement campaign called “The Wedding Matters”, sponsored by Courage Campaign. Thirty-eight families were filmed in one day talking about the importance of their marriages. These PSAs affected many people’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage even altering the course of the Courage Campaign’s own efforts.