Unitarian Universalist Association President Opposes Call for Federal Constitutional Amendment

UUA President William G. Sinkford

(Boston, MA – Feb. 24, 2004) In response to today's announcement that President Bush will back a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-gender marriage, UUA president William G. Sinkford issued the following statement:

Amending the United States constitution to deny same-gender couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage would be to enshrine discrimination into the document that provides the foundation for our democracy. While the constitution has been amended in the past, it has never been altered with the express intent to deny equal protection to an entire class of citizens, and now is no time to start. Instead, successive generations of Americans have found new ways to honor the spirit of the constitution by extending its promise to an ever-widening circle of American citizens. The document that granted freedom and full citizenship to African Americans and gave women the right to vote must not be used as a weapon with which to attack the families of our country's gay and lesbian citizens.

Unitarian Universalist Association
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