Green Party Endorses Freedom to Marry
Love is found where the heart finds it. There is no law that can be written that can stop one human from loving another. Decades ago the Supreme Court made a decision in Loving vs Virginia that ended restrictions of racially biased laws regarding marriage. The basis for the decision was the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act protects employees from being fired based on sexual orientation as well as 21 states and Washington D.C. have anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation and or identity.
One simple barrier prevents many in the LGBT community from fully expressing their love for one another and it is in the form of a discriminatory law signed by President Bill Clinton. The Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA, was created to disenfranchise an entire segment of American society by creating a classification on their love that expressly denies the right to marry.
The Green Party of Ohio has always supported legislation that permits same sex couples to marry not only based on the party platform of Respect for Diversity and Gender Equality, but also based in the Constitution which respects the rights of the individual in the 9th Amendment and our founding document, the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence states we have the right to pursue happiness, which to some of our LGBT friends includes marriage.
A recent poll conducted by the Washington Post found that 52% of Ohioans support marriage equality, with only 37% responding that they oppose. In light of this and other factors highlighting the growing cultural shift toward inclusion, the Green Party of Ohio is proud to support the timely and well-organized efforts of Freedom Ohio to bring marriage equality to our great state. We also salute the Libertarian Party for their long-time support in this arena, and the Democratic Party for recently joining the fight as well.
As champions of inclusion, Greens have long fought for equal rights as members and supporters of the LGBT community. In 2004, Green Party Mayor Jason West began the legal battle for marriage equality in New York by solemnizing 24 same-sex weddings in New Paltz, despite considerable legal risk. With the evidence that sometimes a single stand is all it takes for the dominoes to fall, we look forward to seeing Ohio set the example for other states to follow by roundly supporting and passing the Freedom to Marry amendment.
See also:
"Polls in Fla., Ohio and Va. see same-sex marriage support", by Sandhya Somashekhar and Peyton M. Craighill, Washington Post, October 9, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/poll-support-grows-f...
"Information on Green Party positions on Marriage Equality and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights, 2005"
http://www.gp.org/issue/marriageequality.pdf
Contacts:
Sean Nestor, Green Party of Ohio Secretary (419)-376-9746 seannestor@lucascountygreens.org
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