On May 15th, 2008, the California Supreme Court took a monumental step for civil rights by ruling that previous laws blocking gay couples from marrying violates equal protection clauses within the California State Constitution. On June 16th, California became the second state in the union to allow same-sex couples the right to wed. Ever since the Supreme Court ruling, far-right groups such as the American “Family” Association, The “Family” Research Council, and P-FOX have funneled MILLIONS of dollars to fund Proposition 8. This ballot measure is designed to harm lesbian and gay families by eliminating their right to marry. Government recognition of marriage rights is very important, and impacts how couples live their daily lives. Recognition from the state of California only goes so far, as there are over 1,100 rights NOT recognised by the Federal Government. For a comprehensive look at how gay couples are discriminated against by current marriage laws, please check out the General Accounting Office report (.PDF file!) of 2004 on the so-called “Defense of Marriage” Act.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) community has been under assault over the last eight years by bigots and politicians looking to frighten people and shore up votes: now in 2008 Students For Justice is committed to ending the chain of discrimination and fight for the full equality of the LGBT community.

We encourage you to join us this quarter in fighting Prop.8. We are coordinating with various groups to get out the vote and educate the public. If you are interested in participating, please attend our meetings (Tuesdays @ 12:30 in the Santa Cruz Room, Sunday T.B.D!) and/or join the forum. Remember to look back at StudentsForJustice.com for updates, news, and events…its going to be a BUSY election season!

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 28th, 2008 at 12:55 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.