Resolution Supporting Marriage Equality

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 Prepared by Jack Doren, PsyD, LGBT Representative Management, Broward County Democratic Party

Whereas, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that Marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man, and as a fundamental freedom (1) (2); and Whereas, the Florida Democratic Partys 2012 platform states, Democrats believe that...All people should be treated equally and fairly, in all levels of government and society, by fighting discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and family status (3); and Whereas, same-sex couples, even those legally recognized by their states, are denied 1,138 federal benefits and legal protections available to married opposite-sex couples (2) (4); and Whereas, recent national polls show that a majority of Americans now believe samesex marriage should be recognized by law as valid (2) (9) (10) (11); and Whereas, the American Psychological Association states that Scientific research provides no evidence that would justify discrimination against same-sex partners and their families, and that the denial of civil marriage...stigmatizes same-sex relationships...and reinforces prejudice against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people (5) (8); and Whereas, as of April 8, 2013, over 94% of US Democratic Senators (50 of 53), plus two independent and two Republican Senators, have publicly supported the right of samesex couples to marry (6); and

Whereas, a resolution passed by the NAACP Board of Directors, states, We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution (7); therefore, be it Resolved, that the Broward Democratic Party supports full marriage equality under the law for same-sex couples, and calls on the executive, legislative and judicial branches of all levels of the United States government to use their respective authorities to support marriage equality and to enact laws to provide full marriage equality to samesex couples. _________________________________________________________________

References and Footnote (1) Loving v. Virginia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia (2) Atlanta City Council Resolution: http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2012/12/04/citycouncil-oks-resolution-supporting-gay-marriage (3) 2012 Florida Democratic Party Platform: http:// www.hillsboroughcountydemocrats.org/pdf/FLDemsPlatform2012.pdf (4) National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF): http://www.ngltf.org/issues/ marriage_and_partnership_recognition (5) American Psychological Association: marriage-equality.pdf http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/lgbt/

(6) Human Rights Campaign (HRC): http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/senator-timjohnson-announces-support-for-marriage-equality (7) NAACP: http://www.naacp.org/news/entry/naacp-passes-resolution-in-support-ofmarriage-equality (8) American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/about/policy/samesex.aspx (9) Washington Post/ABC News Poll: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/ 2013/03/18/gay-marriage-support-hits-new-high-in-post-abc-poll/

(10) CBS News Poll: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57576249/poll-53-ofamericans-support-same-sex-marriage/ (11) Footnote: Washington Post-ABC News Poll (March 18, 2013): 58% of Americans now believe it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married; 36% say it should be illegal. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/18/gay-marriage-support-hitsnew-high-in-post-abc-poll/ CBS News Poll (March 26, 2013): 53% of Americans think it should be legal for same-sex couples to marry; 39% say it should not be legal. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57576249/poll-53-of-americans-support-samesex-marriage/