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| AGW Welcome | The Witness Magazine |
Response to President Bush's Call for a Constitutional AmendmentBy the Claiming the Blessing CollaborativeFeb. 25, 2004The constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage called for by President Bush is clear and unabashed discrimination against gays and lesbians and their families. It will do nothing to defend the institution of marriage and everything to deny equal rights under the law to a segment of the population. We agree with President Bush that “On a matter of such importance, the voice of the people must be heard,” and we intend to make our voice of opposition heard loud and clear. We wholeheartedly disagree with the argument that extending equal access to the constitutional protections afforded heterosexual couples by civil marriage to same gender couples will undermine families. To the contrary, our lived experience in the Episcopal Church is that the blessing of gay and lesbians unions has been a blessing not only to the couple but to the community – strengthening straight marriages by their example and witness. We believe that this effort to write bias into the Constitution is inherently unconstitutional. As Episcopal clergy stood in solidarity with the Freedom Riders who challenged segregation in the 1960's, we stand in solidarity with those in San Francisco who today challenge discrimination against gay and lesbian families. Equal protection is guaranteed by the Constitution as a civil right for all Americans – not just a chosen percentage. We believe that this effort to write bias into the Constitution is inherently unconstitutional. As Episcopal clergy stood in solidarity with the Freedom Riders who challenged segregation in the 1960's, we stand in solidarity with those in San Francisco who today challenge discrimination against gay and lesbian families. We follow in the footsteps of those who spoke in opposition to segregationist leaders when they railed against the courts implementing integration in public schools as we speak in opposition to George Bush and his expressed intention to amend the Constitution to institutionalize the marginalization of gay and lesbian Americans. We stand opposed to efforts to offer gay and lesbian families as sacrificial lambs on the altar of presidential politics. We stand committed to this great nation and to working together to realize the dream of a place where “liberty and justice for all” really means all. We stand convinced that the American dream will be closer to being realized when gay and lesbian families are afforded the equal protection to which all families are entitled under the Constitution.
The Claiming the Blessing steering committee:
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