Marriage Equality
Jul. 3rd, 2003 08:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vervain13Yesterday I was contacted by the Human Rights Campaign in order to continue communicating with our elected officials concerning the issue of equal marriage rights for GLBT Americans. A recent post I made indicates the positive response from one of our supporters and is a distinct sign of encouragement. As a gay American, I am so tired of the continued diatribe of hate toward us by those who cry "discrimination" when it comes to their religion and yet who are so ardent in their desire to perpetuate discrimination aginst us. In a recent encounter in a Yahoo! chatroom, I was making this point when someone asked me when I would quit complaining about it. As long as this legally sanctioned bigotry and discrimination toward us is in place I will carry the message of EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL AMERICANS. Below is a copy of the most recent communication I sent to our elected officials.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
As your constituent, I urge you to oppose any attempt to amend the Constitution to discriminate against gay and lesbian individuals and couples. Currently, gay and lesbian Americans are legally discriminated all across our nation. We have to pay more for health coverage because we are LEGALLY denied the right to marriage...a right guaranteed to all other Americans simply because they are heterosexual. Those who oppose equality for gay and lesbian Americans...their fellow citizens...proclaim loudly and often that we are seeking "special rights." In reality we are only seeking to have THE SAME RIGHTS as all other Americans...rights which SHOULD ALREADY BE OURS by virtue of birth on American soil. The Constitution and its subsequent amendments were designed to protect and expand individual liberties, such as granting women the right to vote and establishing that separate is not equal. The Constitution was not designed to revoke or restrict these liberties.
If the amendment makes it through the difficult process necessary to amend the Constitution, this would be the first time in history that the Constitution was amended to restrict the rights of a whole class of people, in conflict with its guiding principle to provide equal protection for all.
Marriage, other forms of relationship recognition and basic civil rights protections are essential components that make all families, including gay and lesbian families, safer and more secure. And safer, more secure families add to the security and stability of our nation.
I implore you, on behalf of all gay and lesbian Americans and in the spirit of fairmindedness, to act now to end the unjust discrimination in place against us. Please oppose the Federal Constitutional Marriage Amendment and any attempt to build discrimination into the very document that should protect everyone. I look forward to hearing from you on this extremely important issue
Sincerely,
David ___________
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
As your constituent, I urge you to oppose any attempt to amend the Constitution to discriminate against gay and lesbian individuals and couples. Currently, gay and lesbian Americans are legally discriminated all across our nation. We have to pay more for health coverage because we are LEGALLY denied the right to marriage...a right guaranteed to all other Americans simply because they are heterosexual. Those who oppose equality for gay and lesbian Americans...their fellow citizens...proclaim loudly and often that we are seeking "special rights." In reality we are only seeking to have THE SAME RIGHTS as all other Americans...rights which SHOULD ALREADY BE OURS by virtue of birth on American soil. The Constitution and its subsequent amendments were designed to protect and expand individual liberties, such as granting women the right to vote and establishing that separate is not equal. The Constitution was not designed to revoke or restrict these liberties.
If the amendment makes it through the difficult process necessary to amend the Constitution, this would be the first time in history that the Constitution was amended to restrict the rights of a whole class of people, in conflict with its guiding principle to provide equal protection for all.
Marriage, other forms of relationship recognition and basic civil rights protections are essential components that make all families, including gay and lesbian families, safer and more secure. And safer, more secure families add to the security and stability of our nation.
I implore you, on behalf of all gay and lesbian Americans and in the spirit of fairmindedness, to act now to end the unjust discrimination in place against us. Please oppose the Federal Constitutional Marriage Amendment and any attempt to build discrimination into the very document that should protect everyone. I look forward to hearing from you on this extremely important issue
Sincerely,
David ___________
