FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 2006
Contact: Michael Avery, President
617-335-5023
Mel Campagna, NLG Bay Area, The National Lawyers Guild Opposes Bush’s
Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Ban on Same Sex Marriage
New York. The National Lawyers Guild strongly
condemns the constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage proposed by
President Bush on Monday, June 5, 2006 as an attack on the civil and human
rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. The amendment
would interfere with the rights of states to recognize same-sex marriages.
The Guild criticized the President for targeting
the GLBTQI community in an attempt to drum up support from his conservative
followers at a time when his approval rating is at a record low and he is being
characterized as one of the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history. The
Guild noted that most observers believe that the proposed amendment will not
receive the two-thirds majority necessary for it to pass in the House and
Senate. The Guild concluded that the same sex marriage amendment is a political
tactic, in which Bush seeks to promote homophobia and fear to increase his own
popularity. “Although polls indicate that support for same-sex marriage is on
the rise, queer people still face harassment and discrimination in our society.
Rather than address the real issues contributing to his low ratings, such as the
unpopular and unjust war on Iraq, the president is pandering to the religious
right and seeking to scapegoat the GLBTQI community.” said Mel Campagna, Queer
Committee member and Legal Worker VP for the National Lawyers Guild.
NLG President Michael Avery stated, "If this
Amendment were to pass it would be the first time that the Constitution had been
amended to deny any group of citizens the equal protection of the law.
President Bush is joining the politics of fear with the politics of hate in a
way that is fundamentally un-American."
The amendment is unnecessary to protect freedom of
religion because the First Amendment ensures that religious organizations have
the right to decide who will be consecrated in holy matrimony without
interference from the government. At the same time, the First Amendment
protects all citizens from government mandated religious beliefs. The Guild
believes that if passed the amendment would hamper the protections of every
citizen provided by the First Amendment and erode the power of the Bill of
Rights. “The right to marry the person whom one chooses and all the protections
and benefits afforded to marriage are basic civil rights which should be
guaranteed to every citizen, without regard to another person’s particular
religious beliefs” said Anne Befu, co-chair of the NLG Queer
Committee.
Founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated
national bar association, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest
public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States, with more
than 200 chapters.
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