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Action = Alert

Say No to Marriage=20 Discrimination in the=20 Constitution
September 2,=20 2003

Action Needed:=20

Email your Senators and=20 Representative TODAY to oppose the right = wing=20 fundamentalists who want to amend the=20 Constitution in order to permanently = exclude=20 lesbians and gays from the right to = marry.=20 The House has introduced HJ Resolution = 56, a=20 staunchly anti-gay proposed Amendment = that would=20 define marriage, in the U.S. = Constitution, as=20 strictly between a man and a woman. =

We=20 cannot stand by idly while our opponents = attempt=20 to insert marriage discrimination into = our=20 Constitution. The Constitution = subcommittee of=20 the Senate Judiciary Committee is = holding hearings=20 this Thursday, September 4, to review = the=20 Defense of Marriage Act of 1996. Now is = the time=20 to send=20 a loud and clear message to Congress = in=20 support of same-sex marriage and in = firm=20 opposition to the proposed "marriage=20 discrimination" Constitutional = amendment.=20

Background:

In a = knee=20 jerk reaction to the U.S. Supreme = Court's recent=20 ruling outlawing sodomy=20 laws, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave = (R-Colo.) along=20 with five co-sponsors introduced HJ = Resolution=20 56, a proposed amendment to the U.S.=20 Constitution that would = permanently=20 exclude gays and lesbians from marrying. = Under=20 this resolution the Constitution would = be=20 modified to include the following = language:=20 "Marriage in the United States shall = consist=20 only of the union of a man and a woman." = Ratification of such an amendment would = set the=20 dangerous precedent of amending the = Constitution=20 to restrict, rather than protect, civil = rights.=20

This divisive and discriminatory = federal=20 proposal, following on the heels of the = 1996=20 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), would = have a=20 profoundly devastating effect on the = lives of=20 lesbian and gay families across the = country if=20 it is passed by Congress and ratified by = the=20 necessary number of states.

We = need to=20 stop this proposal in Congress, before = it starts=20 down the path of ratification in the 50=20 states--where it will be harder and more = costly=20 to stop. The right to marry is a crucial = civil=20 rights issue, and has been deemed a = "fundamental=20 right." Without marriage rights, gay and = lesbian=20 couples are denied well over 1,000 = rights,=20 benefits and responsibilities available = to=20 married couples, including such = fundamental=20 protections as hospital visitation = rights,=20 health care benefits, inheritance = rights, social=20 security, immigration rights, tax = benefits, and=20 parenting rights. Gay and lesbian = couples are=20 also denied the intangible benefit of = the peace=20 of mind that comes from having your = commitment=20 and your family legally recognized. =

This=20 anti-gay and anti-marriage initiative = comes from=20 the same right-wing crowd that claims to = be=20 pro-marriage and pro-family. This = mean-spirited=20 attempt at enshrining marriage = discrimination in=20 the Constitution reveals that their true = agenda=20 is not marriage and family promotion but = discrimination and exclusivity. Use = the=20 message below to say no to the marriage=20 discrimination amendment. =

For more=20 information:
http://www.hrc.org/=20
http://www.freedomtomarry.org/=20
http://www.lambdalegal.org/

Your = Message=20

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