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Equal Justice Society Condemns Bush's Proposed Marriage Amendment
(February 24, 2004) Our Constitution is our greatest bulwark of freedom and equality, and the Equal Justice Society is committed to realizing the Constitution's promise for all Americans. Therefore, the Equal Justice Society condemns President Bush's cynical proposal to amend the Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. It is nothing more than a shameful attempt to divide the American people by scapegoating gay men and lesbians for his own political purposes.
In more than 200 years, we have never amended the Constitution to deprive one group of Americans of their rights. Our tradition is a movement towards the greater celebration of diversity and inclusiveness—a tradition of broadening liberty, not retreating from it. We amended the Constitution to eradicate slavery. We amended the Constitution to extend the right to vote to all people regardless of race, gender, wealth, or age. A Constitutional amendment should be a tool of liberation, not oppression. That is why we will resist this divisive maneuver by the Bush administration with all our strength.
The Equal Justice Society believes that gay and lesbian couples should receive fully equal treatment under our nation's marriage laws. But this amendment is larger than the issue of marriage. It would not simply mar our Constitution by creating a group of second-class citizens, it would also threaten the equal rights of women, rights of privacy, and reproductive choice. All people—not just the 10 million or more gay men and lesbians in America, but all Americans —are endangered by this attempt to divide us.
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Media Contact:
Tobias Barrington Wolff
Board Member, Equal Justice Society
(415) 288-8700
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