Marriage
Information
The recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples
should be allowed to marry has sparked national debate. A
backlash—which has been building momentum since the U.S. Supreme
Court's decision that decriminalized gay sex in Lawrence v. Texas
—is already widespread.
The media has repeatedly cited a poll that says 59 percent of
Americans oppose gay marriage, and an
August 2003 article in the Village Voice
notes the
pervasiveness of the anti-gay backlash even before the Massachusetts
decision.
While the importance of this issue is obvious from an equal rights
standpoint, young feminists must also be aware of the role same-sex
marriage will play in the upcoming elections. The right has been actively
pushing for an antigay constitutional amendment, in an attempt to motivate
the base in November. To effectively tackle this effort to undermine
equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans, we need to make sure that
our candidates support same-sex marriage, and remain cognizant of the
right's intentions.
While some women cannot legally marry because of their sexual
orientation, others are in danger of being coerced to do so because of
economic circumstances. The Bush administration wants to waste 1.5
billion dollars of federal welfare funds on unproven marriage promotion
programs over the next five years, instead of programs that directly
help women escape poverty like job training, education, and child care.
Not only are these programs invasive—marriage is a fundamentally
private decision—but they are also dangerous. Up to 60 percent of
women on welfare have been in an abusive relationship; marriage
promotion programs give economically desperate women financial
incentives to stay with their abusers. Furthermore, the administration
is sending a disturbing message to women in poverty: You don't need a
job; you need a man.
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Take Action!
To learn more about gay marriage, visit the Human Rights Campaign at
www.hrc.org.
As America's largest gay and lesbian organization,
the HRC provides a national voice on gay and lesbian issues, effectively
lobbies Congress, mobilizes grassroots action in diverse communities,
invests strategically to elect a fair-minded Congress, and increases
public understanding through innovative education and communication
strategies. To learn more about marriage promotion, you can visit
NOW
Legal Defense and Education Fund.
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Links
Alternatives to Marriage Project
The
Alternatives to Marriage Project (AtMP) is a national nonprofit
organization advocating for equality and fairness for unmarried people,
including people who choose not to marry, cannot marry, or live together
before marriage.
Human Rights Campaign
As America's largest
gay and lesbian organization, the Human Rights Campaign provides a
national voice on gay and lesbian issues. The HRC effectively lobbies
Congress, mobilizes grassroots action in diverse communities, invests
strategically to elect a fair-minded Congress, and increases public
understanding through innovative education and communication strategies.
Legal Momentum (Formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund)
Legal Momentum pursues equality for women and girls in the workplace, the
schools, the family and the courts, through litigation, education, and
public information programs.
Marriage Promotion Information
Unmarried America: An Equal Rights Organization
Unmarried America
engages in education and advocacy for America's 86 million unmarried and
single adults, including solo singles, single parents, domestic
partners, roommates, and unmarried families. The organization seeks
fairness for unmarried employees, consumers, and taxpayers as well as
more recognition of unmarried voters.
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