Statement by MALDEF's Regional Counsel Marisa Demeo Condemning Proposal to Amend the Constitution to Discriminate Against Gay Men and Lesbians
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The following is a statement made by Marisa Demeo,
Regional Counsel of MALDEF's Washington, D.C. office, on behalf of MALDEF:
"Today, MALDEF stands together with other leaders representing
nationally recognized and established Latino organizations that defend the
rights of the Latino community and with Latino members of Congress to
speak out against proposals to amend the Constitution that purport to
protect the institution of marriage but, in effect, would be used to
discriminate against men and women throughout our country, including
Latinos and Latinas who happen to be gay or lesbian.
"MALDEF opposes Congresswoman Musgrave (H.J. Res. 56) and
Congressman Allard's (S. J. Res. 26) proposal to amend the Constitution
for two primary reasons. First, to select out a particular group of
people to be treated in a manner as less than equal than the rest of our
society would violate the fundamental principle underlying our
Constitution - that every person be treated as equal under the law. When
the Founding Fathers created our Constitution, there were flaws in it. It
embodied the historical bias of it time.
"African Americans, women and Native Americans were treated as less
than equal to white men at the time of our country's founding.
Nevertheless, the principle of equal protection was embedded into the
Constitution by our Founding Fathers. The first ten amendments added to
the Constitution are known as our Bill of Rights. Since the addition of
our Bill of Rights in 1791, the Constitution has been amended only
seventeen times. The amendments we have added have been designed to
protect and expand individual liberties, never to take them away or
restrict them. As a country, through constitutional amendments, we have
made a commitment to making sure that people are not treated differently
because of such factors as their race or gender. More fundamentally, our
Constitution says no person should be denied the equal protection of the
law.
"To select out gay and lesbian people for treatment different than
other people would be to deny gay and lesbian individuals equal
protection. A study by the U.S. Government Accounting Office identified
1,049 federal laws in which benefits, rights, and privileges are
contingent on having the status of being married. Because same sex
partners cannot be legally married, they are denied benefits under our
social security, veterans, tax, and immigration laws, to name a few.
"Latinos must be cautious about accepting any form of legal
discrimination. If it becomes acceptable to write discrimination into our
Constitution, who will be the next group selected out for unequal
treatment - immigrants? Latinos? We cannot be bystanders in this debate.
We must protect those in the minority; by doing so, we are protecting
ourselves.
"The second reason why MALDEF stands with other Latino leaders
against the constitutional amendment that would prohibit gay marriages and
civil unions is because our Constitution contains a fundamental right to
marry. It is because of this fundamental right, which we recognize, that
MALDEF joined on the side of the plaintiffs in the Massachusetts Supreme
Court to demand recognition for the right of every individual to choose
his or her marriage partner.
"The last time our country lashed out at this most fundamental right
was during a long dark period in our history - during slavery and all the
way until 1967 when the Supreme Court finally declared anti-miscegenation
statutes unconstitutional. In one of the earlier cases that was
frequently cited to uphold laws that prohibited whites from marrying
African Americans, a state court stated that, 'The amalgamation of the
races is not only unnatural, but is always productive of deplorable
results. Our daily observation shows us, that the offspring of these
unnatural connections are generally sickly and effeminate, and that they
are inferior in physical development and strength, to the full blood of
either race.'
"In a case brought in the California Supreme Court against the Los
Angeles County Clerk, the County justified its anti-miscegenation law
because it alleged that Blacks were physically and mentally inferior to
whites, and that preventing such marriages would reduce racial tension and
prevent the birth of children who might become social problems.
"The right to marry is a fundamental right that every individual
should have. It was prejudice against Blacks, which was the underlying
force creating and maintaining our anti-miscegenation laws. It is
prejudice against gay men and lesbians that underlies the drive to
prohibit them from being able to marry. This amendment calls to that
prejudice, that MALDEF as a civil rights organization repudiates. Our
society ought to learn from its past, and recognize that we are greatest
when we embrace inclusiveness, the principle of equal protection and
respect for the rights of all of society's members."
A national non-partisan, non-profit organization, MALDEF promotes
and protects the rights of Latinos through advocacy, community education
and outreach, leadership development, higher educational scholarships, and
when necessary, through the legal system.