Press Release 8-05-04 from Equal Partners in Faith   [8-9-04]

Equal Partners in Faith celebrates with progressive organizations and the citizens of Washington State the ruling handed down by Superior Court Judge William L. Downing in support of marriage for same sex couples (August 4th). This ruling has been hailed as "a powerful affirmation of equal rights for gay couples." Downing's ruling concluded that depriving same sex couples from full marriage rights is "not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest."

However, on August 3rd, voters in the state of Missouri voted to approve an anti-gay amendment to the Missouri Constitution. The amendment passed by a wide margin which dramatically illustrates that the rights of individuals should not be put to a vote.

Historically, justice has not been served by popular vote and the US Constitution is constructed to protect minority groups from the "tyranny of the majority." Equal Partners in Faith believes in equal justice under the law.

The following articles bring more illumination on this subject.

Sylvia Rhue, Director, Equal Partners in Faith.

Missouri Voters Amend their State Constitution to Add Discrimination

Media release, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

"Fundamental Human Rights Should Never be up for Popular Vote"

Washington, DC. August 3, 10:30pm ET. - Tonight, early returns indicate that voters in Missouri have approved by a margin of approximately 65% to 35% an amendment to their state constitution which prohibits the recognition of same sex marriages. The campaign against the amendment was waged by Constitutional Defense League, which raised $450,000 in just two and one-half months, airing television ads and fielding scores of volunteers across the state. Other progressive groups in Missouri, including the ACLU of Missouri and Planned Parenthood, also fought against the measure. The state's major papers - St. Louis Post, St. Louis Business Journal, Kansas City Star, Columbia Missourian, and Springfield News Leader -and the mayors of St. Louis and Kansas City all opposed the amendment. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force conducted field training in St. Louis in May, and contributed $25,500 to fight the amendment. The Human Rights Campaign also made significant contributions and provided four field staff to the campaign.

Statement by Matt Foreman, Executive Director

"While we are saddened by the vote, we are not surprised. Fundamental human rights should never be up for popular vote. Our founding fathers recognized this reality and enshrined our basic freedoms in the United States Constitution. Missouri's own past highlights the enduring value of the federal Constitution: until overturned by various United States Supreme Court decisions, Missouri law prohibited interracial marriage, criminalized abortion, and supported segregated schools.

Every gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender American owes a debt of gratitude to The Constitutional Defense League and its campaign manager Doug Gray for waging the largest campaign that our community has ever had in Missouri. Because of their work, newspapers across the state and hundreds of clergy came out in opposition to the amendment. Moreover, they accomplished so much with limited resources and in the face of a campaign marked by lies, distortions, fear-mongering, and threats of violence.

The good news is that more then one third of Missouri voters rejected this mean-spirited, un-American attack. Moreover, today's vote means that for every vote cast by a gay Missourian, another 6 non- gay people stood up for us. That is the truly inspiring story in this vote. (According to exit polls conducted over many years, approximately 5% of voters identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.)

It is important for all gay Americans -- especially our heroes in Missouri and all of our people who are right now fighting similar, ugly measures across the country -- to recognize that a primary goal of the right in launching these attacks is to demoralize, drain, and fracture our communities.

We -- not the forces of intolerance -- must define victory. We win when our community builds its infrastructure, educates thousands of voters about our rights, comes out stronger, and is ready to fight harder and better. That is certainly the situation in Missouri and we urge all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Missourians and our allies to give their wholehearted support to PROMO (Personal Rights of Missourians), Missouri's statewide LGBT civil rights organization, which will carry the fight into the future.

The fight goes on. We know it and they know it: we are on the right and winning side of history and ultimately we will prevail."

NBJC condemns discriminatory constitutional vote in Missouri

From National Black Justice Coalition

Washington D.C. - August 4, 2004 - The National Black Justice Campaign (NBJC) condemned today's vote putting discrimination in the Missouri Constitution by denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry and equal protection under the law.

"African Americans oppose discrimination in all its forms," said H. Alexander Robinson, strategic director of the National Black Justice Coalition.

"George W. Bush and his radical conservative allies are seeking to divide us on this issue," commented NBJC Board Member Jasmyne Cannick. "We believe that most Missourians do not agree with the unconstitutional ban."

"We will not stand idly by and allow discrimination to be written into the Constitution of the United States or the constitutions of any state in America," said Mandy Carter, an NBJC board member and chair of its Grassroots Mobilization Committee. "We call on all advocates for fairness to reject injustice and discrimination and to oppose conservative attempts to enshrine their prejudice."

About National Black Justice Coalition

The National Black Justice Coalition is an ad hoc coalition of black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered leaders who have come together to fight against discrimination in their communities. The goal of the organization in 2004 is to build black support for marriage equality and to educate African Americans on the dangers of the proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to discriminate in marriage.

The National Black Justice Board Members are: Keith Boykin, New York, NY (President), Jasmyne Cannick, Los Angeles, CA (Media Director), Mandy Carter, Durham, NC, Roddrick Colvin, New York (Secretary), Maurice Franklin, New York, NY, Donna Payne, Washington, DC (Vice President), Sylvia Rhue, Los Angeles, CA, Frank Leon Roberts, New York, NY, Reuben Walker, New York, NY and Sonya Shields, New York, NY.

The National Black Justice Coalition's Strategic Director is Alexander Robinson.

EQUAL PARTNERS in FAITH is a multi-racial national network of religious leaders and people of faith committed to equality and diversity. Our diverse faith traditions and shared religious values lead us to affirm and defend the equality of all people, regardless of religion, race, ability, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. As people of faith, we actively oppose the manipulation of religion to promote inequality and exclusion.

Equal Partners in Faith
1040 Harbor Drive
Annapolis, MD 21403