EAST LANSING –
Advocates and allies for marriage equality in Michigan will come together this week in solidarity with others around the nation to hold President-elect Barack Obama to his word and to speak out against a political campaign that aimed at denying LGBT citizens the legal right to marry.
Those who support marriage equality will gather together at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Michigan State Capitol to speak out against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.
"An estimated one in ten American citizens is LGBT, and is denied equal rights under the law at a federal level." said Aiden Manning, event organizer. "Even when a state's constitution allows for same-sex marriage, a same sex couple is still denied over 1,100 federal benefits of marriage. Repealing DOMA, an objective of Barack Obama's, would allow the states to decide how marriage is defined. Now is the time to stop the War on Love."
The Lansing rally will coincide with a much broader national effort aimed at holding President-elect Obama to his promise to call for the repeal of DOMA and the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that discriminates against gays in the US military.
This is a pro-family movement aiming to protect the rights of couples while also providing stability and security to families. Couples in committed relationships are excluded from federal rights and state rights that protect heterosexual marriages.
Some of these rights include Social Security survivor and pension benefits, hospital visitation rights, medical decision making rights, inheritance rights, end-of-life decisions (burial), family leave under the federal "Family Medical Leave Act," and employment and housing protections.
According to the 2000 US census, more than a million children are being raised by same-sex couples. Under DOMA, these children are deprived of the protections that most families take for granted. Same-sex couples in a committed long-term relationship to should be afforded the legal protections that will have a positive impact on their children.
Those attending the rally will have an opportunity to sign an open letter to Barack Obama that will be sent directly to newly elected President once he occupies the White House. The national goal is to collect at least one million signatures upon his inauguration insisting that he keep his word and call for the repeal of DOMA which was signed into law in 1996 by then President Bill Clinton.
More info on the simultaneous national rallies can be found at http://www.jointheimpact.com or email local contact: [email protected]
