Ecological Wisdom * Social Justice * Grassroots Democracy * Non-Violence
>> Green Party of Michigan <<
http://www.migreens.org
>>> ---------------- <<<
>>> News Release <<<
>>> ---------------- <<<
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
---------------------
October 24, 2004
For More Information Contact:
----------------------------
Marc Reichardt
Chair/GPMI
chair@migreens.org
John Anthony La Pietra
Elections Co-ordinator/GPMI
elections@migreens.org
>>> Green Party of Michigan Urges "No" Vote on Proposal 04-2 <<<
>>> ======================================================== <<<
>> Candidates, Party Leaders Defend Equal Right to Marriage <<
>> as an Issue of Social Justice, Respect for Diverse Beliefs <<
> <
> Only Statewide Political Party in Coalition for a Fair Michigan <
The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) is calling on Michigan voters
to keep discrimination out of the state Constitution by voting "no"
November 2 on statewide Proposal 04-2.
Michigan Greens have come out against the proposed Constitutional
amendment to ban "same-sex marriage or similar unions" several times
this year, opposing it in the Michigan Legislature and before the
State Board of Canvassers.
Several of this fall's 43 Green candidates on the ballot have made
their support for the right of same-sex couples to marry -- and their
opposition to the amendment -- an issue in their campaigns.
GPMI is also the only one of the six statewide parties on the ballot
to join the Coalition for a Fair Michigan, which co-ordinates opposition
to the amendment.
The party's platform calls for "passage of laws granting the right to
marry regardless of gender, and ensuring all rights and responsibilities
currently extended to married couples" -- including inheritance rights,
insurance, and taxes.
And an ad appearing this week in over 100 newspapers across Michigan
urges a "no" vote on the grounds of social justice -- one of the Four
Pillars, the core principles shared by Greens worldwide.
Greens Have Diverse Reasons to Say "No"
=======================================
Many leading Michigan Greens have expressed their strong disapproval
of Proposal 04-2.
Douglas Campbell, once and likely future gubernatorial candidate,
calls it "simply unconscionable to write a Constitutional amendment
which actually takes away someone's civil liberties."
Jason Seagraves, running as a Green for the 7th District seat in
the U.S. House, belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Church, which
performs same-sex marriages. To those who would ban such marriages,
Seagraves advises: "Don’t have one. Don’t attend one if you’re invited.
That’s your right.
"But how dare the government tell my church what type of marriage it
can perform? That’s not religious liberty, that’s religious tyranny."
GPMI clearinghouse co-ordinator Randym Jones added, "Attempting to
piously cram religious bigotry into the Michigan Constitution is an
insult to both religion and law. . . . it makes a mockery of both the
Republican value of individual self-determination and the Democratic
value of protecting the vulnerable among us.
"The Green Party of Michigan stands firmly against all forms of
discrimination, regardless of their source."
1st District Congressional candidate David Newland says the proposal
was the last straw that convinced him to run. The only way anyone could
defend the amendment, in Newland's view, would be by saying the
Constitution doesn’t apply to everyone.
He sees supporters of the amendment as "trying to disenfranchise and
take away the rights in the Constitution from a group of people in this
country. Once you do it to the gays and lesbians, who's next?"
James Wilber, Green candidate for Kalamazoo County Clerk, has promised
to use the office -- "the provider of marriage licenses" -- "to support
marriage rights, including the right for anyone to marry the consenting
adult that they please, including same-sex couples."
And Peter Ponzetti III, running for the State Board of Education,
focuses on the need for civil-rights equity in marriage, which in civil
society is at its core a contract.
GPMI elections co-ordinator John La Pietra sums it up: "Greens are
proud of our position on this issue -- smack dab in the middle of the
rainbow of American diversity . . . and right in the mainstream of
American values of equal rights and tolerance.
"This is yet another case where, as our Presidential candidate David
Cobb has pointed out, the principles of the Green Party are the better
instincts of our country. We call on all Michigan voters to trust those
instincts, and join the Green Party in voting 'no' on Proposal 04-2."
[-------------------------------------------------------------]
To learn more about the Coalition for a Fair Michigan, please visit
the group's Web site at:
http://www.coalitionforafairmichigan.org
The analysis of Proposal 04-2 by the non-partisan Citizens Research
Council of Michigan is available, along with similar reports about other
issues on the November 2004 ballot, on line at:
http://crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2004/memo1076b.html
For more information on GPMI, its platform, past public statements
on same-sex marriage and many other issues, and how you can contact Green
candidates and locals in your area to help offer Michigan voters a
choice and a voice independent of the "Big Two" parties, please visit
our Web site:
http://www.migreens.org
# # #
Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street *
* Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Green Party of Michigan was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics. Greens are organized in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals
and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy
Social Justice * Nonviolence
Community Economics * Decentralization
Feminism * Respect for Diversity
Personal and Global * Future Focus/
Responsibility Sustainability
created/distributed using donated labor
[=================================================================]
Attachment: Excerpts from GPMI Platform
========================================
II. Social Justice
-------------------
4. Civil and Equal Rights
Civil rights are the liberties we mutually grant each other as
citizens -- in exchange for the limits we mutually agree to abide by.
Equal rights are the recognition that each citizen is equal to each
other. When either of these great guarantees are misaligned, there is
turmoil and injustice. We need leaders -- and citizens -- who aren't
afraid to name injustice, prejudice and disrespect for what they are,
but who can then demonstrate the justice, consideration and respect
that make us all proud to be citizens in our unique democracy.
e. Sexual Orientation
The Greens support the diversity of human sexual orientation
just as much as we support the diversity of human religious belief.
Regardless of whether sexual orientation is a matter of choice or
biology, as long as that choice is made between consenting adults
it is neither the business of the state nor of other individuals
to either judge or interfere.
Greens propose:
* The immediate passage of laws granting the right to marry
regardless of gender, and ensuring all rights and responsi-
bilities currently extended to married couples (inheritance
rights, insurance, taxes, etc).
* Eliminating sexual orientation as a barrier to adoption.
* The addition of the category of sexual orientation to all
existing hate-crimes legislation.
[-------------------------------------------------------------]
Attachment: Advertising GPMI Opposition to Proposal 04-2
=========================================================
An advertisement with the following text is scheduled to appear in over
100 Michigan Press Association newspapers in the coming week.
[Green symbol: Ecological Wisdom: Water for life, not profit!
"world in a No more Ice Mountains extracted from Great
sumflower"] Lakes waters!
Social Justice: Don't sacrifice real liberty to
the false security of the "PATRIOT Act". And
keep discrimination out of our constitution;
vote "NO" on Proposal 2!
Grassroots Democracy: Vote Nov. 2!; make sure all Americans can.
Be sure our votes will count -- and be counted. And let our votes
say more, using Instant Runoff Voting . . . IRV is as easy as 1-2-3!
Non-Violence: Support the troops . . . bring them home now!
paid for by: Green Party of Michigan 548 S. Main/Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555 www.migreens.org info@migreens.org
Other Contacts:
Green Party of Michigan
548 S Main St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555
info@migreens.org
posted to web 25 Oct 2004