News

Log Cabin Urges Senate to Reject Any Anti-Family Constitutional Amendment

Calls on Senate to Reject Culture War

March 23, 2004

(Washington, DC) – As the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes to once again consider an anti-family Constitutional amendment, the Log Cabin Republicans call on the Senate to reject any attempt to write discrimination into our Constitution. "Log Cabin Republicans and the majority of Americans oppose any attempt to write discrimination into the Constitution. Yesterday's weak attempts to sugarcoat a discriminatory amendment should be rejected by our Senate," said Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Patrick Guerriero.

"Log Cabin's position has not changed. The far right should leave our sacred Constitution alone. Yesterday the far right unveiled a so-called 'new' amendment that attempts to disguise their true discriminatory purposes by playing games with the language they use. For a group that routinely criticizes over-zealous activist lawyers, they seem to have no problem using legal double-talk to try to disguise their true intentions. What the far right is really trying to do is figure out the most politically palatable way to write discrimination into the Constitution. There is no way to do so. You can't disguise discrimination. Their strategy has changed, their motives have not," continued Guerriero.

Leading far right news organizations, including Pat Robertson's CBN News, yesterday reported that many on the far right support an amendment explicitly banning civil unions. Because the call to amend the Constitution has been weakly received, far right groups will try to push through this "new" amendment and then fight civil unions and domestic partner benefits in the courts and legislatures in the states where such laws have already been passed and might be passed by future majorities.

In announcing the most recent changes and attempting to soften the image of those associated with this amendment, Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) said, in referring to gay Americans, "I'm an American, they're Americans. I think they are entitled to the same benefits and privileges as any American..." In response to Senator Allard, Guerriero said, "We agree with Senator Allard and we call on Congresswoman Musgrave and Senator Allard to live up to those words by cosponsoring legislation, with us, that would extend the same benefits and privileges that he spoke of by creating domestic partner benefits for all federal employees and to cosponsor legislation that would create federal civil unions."

The Log Cabin Republicans urge the Senate to return to the work of the people. "There are real problems in America today, and our Senate should be committed to working to solve these problems. Our President, our Senators, and our party should be talking about taxes, the war on terror, and securing our children's future. We are already a nation at war, a war on terror, and our Congress should be committed to winning that war, and not helping the radical right wage a culture war on gay and lesbian families," concluded Guerriero.

The Log Cabin Republicans on March 10th launched a 1 million dollar television, print and lobbying campaign against any anti-family Constitutional amendment. The television ad, which features Vice President Dick Cheney, is viewable at www.logcabin.org.