Action Alert

Religious conservatives in the U.S. Congress are stubbornly clinging to their timeworn prejudices, with the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment (H.J. Resolution 56, S.J. Resolution 26), that would deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. In the last few months, progressive Americans have defied these age-old prejudices and have been supporting and performing gay marriages from New Paltz, New York to San Francisco, California.

ACTION

It is crucial that you call your Senator on Monday, because he/she is a member of the Judiciary Committee (see - http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm ). Tell them that you oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment, and that you urge him/her to oppose this legislation. Tell them the FMA harms American families. Tell them that constitutional amendments have historically been about protecting and expanding individual rights, not about expanding governmental powers and not about discrimination. Also, please urge your Senator to attend the hearing, which starts at 10am on March 23.

Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1.877.762.8762 and ask to speak with your Senator office. If the switchboard is busy, you can contact your senator by visiting http://www.visi.com/juan/congress. Just enter your zip code and state of residence in the pertinent boxes. Once you’ve done that, you can click on the name of your senator and his or her district contact information will be displayed on the screen.

BACKGROUND

The Federal Marriage Amendment blatantly deprives committed same-sex couples and their families of legal protections that marriage provides. The proposed constitutional amendment states "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."

The benefits of marriage should be available to all Americans equally under the law. Government and state and federal constitutions should not be used as weapons. All American couples, whether same-sex or different sex, should be free to contribute to our nation and communities, love and care for families, and exercise their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

If this amendment passes 594,000 households, headed by same-sex partners with children under the age of 18 (according to 2000 U.S. Census data and considered conservative by many experts), will be denied over 1,000 legal protections such as health insurance coverage, hospital visitation rights, pension benefits, and inheritance rights.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding its third and supposedly final hearing on the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. The Republican-chaired committee's handpicked "expert" witnesses will testify that most Americans oppose equality for gays and lesbians. Let’s show them that Humanists think that this amendment is a reprehensible display of discrimination and partisan politics.

Don’t forget to call your senator Monday, March 22, 2004!

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