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Greens Demand Complete Overturn of Supreme Court's
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THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Invoking the right to privacy and freedom from government intrusion, Greens called on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Bowers v. Hardwick, the 1987 decision that allowed states to criminalize sodomy. The Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge to the earlier decision. "What consenting adults, regardless of sexual orientation, choose to do behind closed doors is private and does not hurt anyone," said Nathalie Paravicini, secretary of the Green Party of the United States. "The government has no right or justification to intrude into one's private life -- there is no more basic right than that of privacy. This is inherent in the Constitution's affirmation of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's urgent now more than ever, in a time when civil liberties are under assault from all fronts by Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush Administration." Starlene Rankin, the Lavender Greens Caucus' delegate to the party's national committee, noted that the Green Party platform embraces "the intimate choice of who we love." "Greens include social justice, feminism, and respect for diversity among the party's Ten Key Values," said Rankin. "Thirteen states have refused to repeal antisodomy statutes. These laws have been used as an instrument of repression and denial of other rights and protections. They've been wielded arbitrarily against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other Americans -- sometimes even against heterosexuals. It's time for the high court to wipe them off the books." The Lavender Green Caucus is the party's advocacy group on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer issues. The national Green platform endorses national nondiscrimination laws and same-sex civil union rights and benefits, adoption rights, and child custody. Greens stress liberation and civic involvement and an integrated humanistic and ecological approach to all issues. "We're the progressive political conscience of queer Americans," said Brandon Lacy Campos, who chairs the caucus. "Unlike the Stonewall Democrats and the Log Cabin Republicans, we opposed and continue to oppose the unjust invasion and occupation of Iraq. We just as vehemently oppose any attempt to criminalize or incarcerate anyone based on an unconstitutional regulation of privacy and mutually consensual sexual behavior." In the event that the Supreme Court does not strike down Bowers v. Hardwick, the Green Party calls for the repeal of all sodomy laws at the state level. "The Supreme Court must recognize that there are limits to what government can regulate," said Joe Crompton of the LGBT Caucus of the Los Angeles County Greens. "The Founding Fathers of our nation were all white, wealthy, male, and officially heterosexual, but they established a nation based on principles of individual freedom and privacy -- even for people they never imagined would enjoy such rights." MORE INFORMATION search: supcrt, civrgt, grgt |