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Newsletter of the Rainbow Alliance
at the University of Florida Next Rainbow Alliance Dinner Meeting, Wednesday, July 14, 2004, 6:30 pm, at La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant. Please RSVP. The Rainbow Alliance is the staff and faculty organization at the University of Florida concerned with matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity. RA welcomes all members of the University community who share its goals. |
Contents
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First WordsPost-Pride ...I hope everyone had a great Pride month. Perhaps you attended one of the many Pride celebrations or just reflected on the many advances for LGBT people that have occurred in the last 12 months -- and there have been many. From Lawrence v. Texas to the first real marriages in Massachusetts, LGBT people have had a banner year. In the wake of each of these advances, the backlash has been growing, and if we've just finished a banner year, opponents of equal rights for LGBT people are hoping the next year will belong to them, starting with this week when the U.S. Senate votes on the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment. This Amendment defines marriage as between one man and one woman and prohibit any law that effectively gives marriage rights to anyone else. We could call this amendment "Prohibition II." This newsletter is briefer than usual, but it focuses on a very important issue -- it's time to take action. Some of you attend marches, support candidates, or just enjoy discussing politics with friends and some just don't follow politics, if you are needed, the first group of people will let you know... Well, we're letting you know, you are needed. Every single person who cares about LGBT rights needs to contact their senators this week, on Monday or Tuesday if possible. Whatever your opinions about same-sex marriage, your help is needed to prevent the setting of this cornerstone of oppression. After all the celebrations of last year's victories, it's time to start working on the victories we'll celebrate next year. |
The Senate Votes ...We're front and center again. It seemed like the great issues of running a nation -- fiscal responsibility, economic opportunity, alliances, foreign policy -- would set same-sex marriage on the back burner. However, debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment, which will define marriage to be between one man and one woman, began in the U.S. Senate on Friday. A vote is expected this week, sometime between Wednesday and Friday. It is important that you contact your senators and tell them how you think they should vote. While Federal action is on the fast track, action in the states takes its time. In Massachusetts, couples continue to marry during the grace period before a constitutional amendment can be passed in the Massachusetts legislature. In California, court cases concerning same-sex marriages in San Francisco are waiting their day in state court. The Amendment is not really expected to pass, mainly because liberals oppose it and many moderates and conservatives feel that it is inappropriate to tamper with the U.S. Constitutiton over this matter.Many feel that this should be left to the states, many of which already have laws forbidding same-sex marriage and defining marriage to be between one man and one woman. Also, we have a Federal law to the same effect. These laws are called DOMAs -- Defense of Marriage Acts -- but we'll call them DORAs -- Denial of Rights Acts. These laws not only prevent the recognition of same-sex marriage, they make it possible for one state to ignore same-sex marriages contracted in other states, so even if you get married in Massachusetts, your marriage need not be recoginzed by most states. So far, there have been no court challenges to Federal DORA, but it is just a question of time. Anti-same-sex groups are very concerned that mere legistlation at the state or federal level could be overturned by the courts. For these groups, the Federal Marriage Amendment is very important, because it will provide a basis to defend all the DORAs. Currently, there are challenges to state DORAs in at least 12 states. On May 12, 2004, such a suit was filed in a Florida federal court. The suit, filed by Ellis Rubin, contends the federal law is a discriminatory violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and violates the full faith and credit clause by allowing states to refuse to recognize gay marriages from other states. The suit was filed in behalf of 4 Miami-Dade couples who were refused marriage licenses. Gov. Jeb Bush, state Attorney General Charles Crist and Miami-Dade clerk Harvey Ruvin are named as defendants. The Florida suit has been criticized by some LGBT activists for its timing and location. Many feel that the Florida suit is premature and a failure in Florida could set the wrong tone. It is important for the recent sucess in Massachusetts to be followed by another success. This brings us back to the Senate. If the Federal Marriage Amendment is unlikely to pass, why risk the defeat? Regardless of the outcome of the vote, it will put every senator on the record. Senators John Kerry and John Edwards are planning to return to Washington from the campaign trail specifically to vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment. If the Amendement fails, the fact will certainly be used by conservatives to gin up all sorts of paranoia. And no-votese by Kerry and Edwards will just as certainly be used against them in the fight over values which conservatives may push forward as the central issue in the upcoming presidential election. If the Amendment seems unlikely to pass, why is it still important to contact your senators? First, defeat is not assured, and every email and phone call makes a difference. Second, and perhaps more important, most senators who are planning to vote no say that they do not support same-sex marriage. They simply think that a federal amendment is wrong for a number of reasons. Our senators are going to need repeated contacts from the LGBT community to remind them that their nuanced position may be acceptable in the short-term, but eventually our rights and our relationships will be on the line. When that time comes -- short time or long -- everyone will need to be prepared to take a decisive stand. |
ResourcesRA-online > www.ra-online.org |