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| Michigan Greens Stand Up For Gays', Lesbians' Right to Marry. |
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Green Party of Michigan February 29, 2004 For More Information Contact: Greens Oppose House, Senate Resolutions Aiming to Put Discrimination Into the State Constitution; Call for Repeal of 1996 Ban; Join with Other Greens Against Federal-Level Discrimination, Too. The Green Party of Michigan is going on record at the state Legislature as opposing two joint resolutions introduced to put barriers against gay and lesbian marriage into the state Constitution. GPMI has sent an excerpt from its platform -- which explicitly supports an equal civil right to marry for all, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, as a matter of social justice -- to Michigan House and Senate staff. The plank will serve as the party's comment against House Joint Resolution U, which passed the Committee on Family and Children Services earlier this month, and Senate Joint Resolution E, which is sitting in that chamber's Judiciary Committee. The platform also calls for the repeal of Public Act 324 of 1996, which was written to nullify gay and lesbian marriage in Michigan -- even marriages legally performed in other states. The principled Green position is in sharp contrast to the maneuvering of the two major parties, notes GPMI chair Marc Reichardt. "The Green Party of Michigan strongly condemns the recent and ongoing attempts by Michigan Republicans to amend the state constitution to limit marriage to different-sex couples, which would deny committed gay couples the civil sanction of marriage. "In our opinion," Reichardt adds, "attempting to use the Constitution to limit the rights of the people, rather than to enhance or protect them, is an unconscionable act." But Democrats' response on the issue is ineffective and insincere, points out GPMI Clearinghouse Coördinator Randym Jones. Recently Michigan Democrats had a chance to go on record opposing the state amendment -- and ducked. "A House panel voted to send the measure out to the floor, 6-0 . . . with three abstentions. Instead of taking a principled stand, the committee's Democrats made a political calculation that a vote against this language might be twisted to appear as a vote for gay marriage -- and a vote against 'straight' marriage -- by future political opponents." This, Jones argues, "provokes echoes of the absurd 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy. Democrats are for 'civil unions' but against 'gay marriage' . . . in other words, 'separate but equal'. But in fact civil unions don't cover all the rights, benefits, and privileges of matrimony. They're not even equal -- just separate. It's a verbal smokescreen that tries to play to both the progressives and the conservatives -- and fails." There is precedent for a major change in marriage rights. In 1967, the US Supreme Court struck down all the state laws that banned interracial marriage. "In the decades since then, we've moved from defending different-race couples to same-sex couples," notes Jones -- "but it's all the same battle: the fight for social justice." All the candidates for the Green Party Presidential nomination www.gp.org/convention/candidates.html support the principle of social justice, one of the national party's Four Pillars, which includes equal rights for all people. Reichardt says of the proposed Federal amendment, "What's astonishing about this textbook example of legislated morality is that it's such a stark contrast to everything the Republican Party supposedly stands for, the kind of intrusion of government into the private lives of our citizens that the GOP frequently complains about. Even worse, neither of the current front-runners for the Democratic nomination will oppose the measure with anything more than the old claim that it is a states'-rights issue. Both have stated that they are personally opposed to gay marriage." GPMI joins other state and local Green Parties across the country in supporting gay marriage. The surprisingly strong challenge of Matt Gonzalez in San Francisco's recent mayoral election has helped move Gavin Newsom to action on the issue -- and the East Coast has its own marrying mayor, Green Jason West of New Paltz, New York. GPMI Platform Committee chair Art Myatt sums up Michigan Greens' position simply: "We support all civil rights for gay people, including the right to get married. We oppose all the proposed measures to take this right away, including the Federal constitutional amendment supported by Bush and the state constitutional amendment that has been proposed in our legislature." Or, to put the immediate issue even more briefly, GPMI is ready to help defend marriage from those who would limit it -- who believe letting others share in married happiness would mean less of the joys and benefits for them. For more information about GPMI, please visit our Web site: http://www.migreens.org Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street * * Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy e. Sexual Orientation The Greens support the diversity of human sexual orientation just as much as we support the diversity of human religious belief. Regardless of whether sexual orientation is a matter of choice or biology, as long asthat choice is made between consenting adults it is neither the business of the state nor of other individuals to either judge or interfere. Greens propose: * The immediate passage of laws granting the right to marry regardless of gender, and ensuring all rights and responsibilities currently extended to married couples (inheritance rights, insurance, taxes, etc). * Eliminating sexual orientation as a barrier to adoption. * The addition of the category of sexual orientation
to all existing hate-crimes legislation.
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