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Neither the Democrats nor the
Republicans are willing to extend to gays and lesbians
the same civil rights enjoyed by everyone
else.
This was the same kind of thinking that
permitted slavery.
I support equal rights for
gays and lesbians, including equal rights for same-sex
couples.
President Bush and his henchman in
Pennsylvania Joe Pitts proposed a constitutional
amendment which would ban same-sex marriages and forever
bar same-sex couples from enjoying the same civil rights
as every other American.
I believe that by
attempting to mandate inequality, both the Democratic
and Republican parties are leading the country in the
wrong direction.
To quote Marie C. Wilson, the
president of the Ms. Foundation: “The most important
thing is really having equal rights. It’s not about the
marriage. It’s having the same rights that you would get
if you were married.”
I support full equal rights
for gays and lesbians. While civil unions as supported
by the Democratic candidate Lois Herr, are a step in the
right direction under current federal and state law they
do not afford equal rights.
There are 1,049
federal rights that go only with marriage. In addition,
at the state level, a civil union is only recognized in
the state where it occurs, while marriage, and all the
rights that go with it, is recognized in all the
states.
Thus, the only way to ensure full equal
rights is to recognize same-sex marriage.
In more
than 200 years of American history, the U.S.
Constitution has been amended only 17 times since the
Bill of Rights – and in each instance (except for
Alcohol Prohibition, which was repealed), it was to
extend rights and liberties to the American people, not
restrict them.
For example, our Constitution was
amended to end our nation’s tragic history of
slavery.
It was also amended to guarantee people
of color, young people and women the right to
vote.
The amendment urged by President Bush
(called the Federal Marriage Amendment) would be the
only one that would single out one class of Americans
for discrimination by ensuring that same-sex couples
would not be granted the equal protections that marriage
brings to American families.
I support full legal
and political equality for all persons, regardless of
sex, gender, or sexual orientation.
I further
support the recognition of equal rights of gay, lesbian,
bisexual, or transgender persons to housing, jobs,
medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of
life provided to every other American
citizen. |
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