In less than 48 hours, Congress will vote on an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would permanently deny marriage equality to same-sex couples. This is unprecedented -- never before has our Constitution been amended to take away anyone's rights. We've got to fight back.
Please sign on to our emergency petition to Congress to stop this divisive amendment at:
http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
Then please ask your friends and family to sign, by forwarding them this email. We'll deliver our comments tomorrow, before the vote, so we need as many people as possible to sign on today.
President Bush campaigned on a promise to unite us, not divide us. Yet today, as people are questioning Bush's handling of everything from the war in Iraq to the economy, Bush and his friends are trying to distract voters from the real issues by turning to the politics of division and hate.
If America stands for anything, it stands for equal rights and opportunities for everyone. Throughout our history, we've struggled to guarantee that equality: ending slavery; securing voting rights for women; and passing the Civil Rights Act just 40 years ago.
Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who they are or who they love.
When two people make a deep personal commitment, taking responsibility for each other and doing all the work of marriage, they should be able to share in the legal benefits of marriage as well. These benefits include access to health care and medical decision-making for one's partner and children, parenting and immigration rights, inheritance, taxation, and Social Security benefits.
This isn't a partisan issue, notwithstanding Bush's pandering to his right-wing base. Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, said this about same-sex couples and marriage: "I think they ought to be treated equally. Period."1 Also, many major corporations, including Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Disney, Coors, and IBM, offer health insurance and other benefits to their employees' same-sex partners. Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) says the amendment is "Nuts... To be seen as the party that's coming between two people that love each other doing what they want to do... to me that's going to be seen as a liability, politically."2
Yet President Bush is bent on moving America backward, by enshrining discrimination in the United States Constitution.
Don't let him divide us like this. Go to:
http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
Please help make sure your friends have signed on too, before we deliver this petition tomorrow.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
--Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
Monday, July 12th, 2004
P.S.: See our website for more information.
Footnotes:
1. Detroit News: "Gerald Ford: Treat Gay Couples Equally", by Deb Price, 10/29/01.
2. AP: "Senate to Debate Marriage Amendment"
Please sign on to our emergency petition to Congress to stop this divisive amendment at:
http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
Then please ask your friends and family to sign, by forwarding them this email. We'll deliver our comments tomorrow, before the vote, so we need as many people as possible to sign on today.
President Bush campaigned on a promise to unite us, not divide us. Yet today, as people are questioning Bush's handling of everything from the war in Iraq to the economy, Bush and his friends are trying to distract voters from the real issues by turning to the politics of division and hate.
If America stands for anything, it stands for equal rights and opportunities for everyone. Throughout our history, we've struggled to guarantee that equality: ending slavery; securing voting rights for women; and passing the Civil Rights Act just 40 years ago.
Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who they are or who they love.
When two people make a deep personal commitment, taking responsibility for each other and doing all the work of marriage, they should be able to share in the legal benefits of marriage as well. These benefits include access to health care and medical decision-making for one's partner and children, parenting and immigration rights, inheritance, taxation, and Social Security benefits.
This isn't a partisan issue, notwithstanding Bush's pandering to his right-wing base. Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, said this about same-sex couples and marriage: "I think they ought to be treated equally. Period."1 Also, many major corporations, including Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Disney, Coors, and IBM, offer health insurance and other benefits to their employees' same-sex partners. Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) says the amendment is "Nuts... To be seen as the party that's coming between two people that love each other doing what they want to do... to me that's going to be seen as a liability, politically."2
Yet President Bush is bent on moving America backward, by enshrining discrimination in the United States Constitution.
Don't let him divide us like this. Go to:
http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
Please help make sure your friends have signed on too, before we deliver this petition tomorrow.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
--Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
Monday, July 12th, 2004
P.S.: See our website for more information.
Footnotes:
1. Detroit News: "Gerald Ford: Treat Gay Couples Equally", by Deb Price, 10/29/01.
2. AP: "Senate to Debate Marriage Amendment"