(no subject)
>Subject: Urgent: Divisive Marriage Vote WEDNESDAY
>Dear MoveOn member,
>In less than 48 hours, Congress will vote on an amendment to the U.S.
>Constitution that would permanently deny marriage equality to same-sex
>couples. This is unprecedented -- never before has our Constitution been
>amended to take away anyone's rights. We've got to fight back.
>
>Please sign on to our emergency petition to Congress to stop this divisive
>amendment at:
> http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
>Then please ask your friends and family to sign, by forwarding them this
>email. We'll deliver our comments tomorrow, before the vote, so we need as
>many people as possible to sign on today.
>President Bush campaigned on a promise to unite us, not divide us. Yet
>today, as people are questioning Bush's handling of everything from the war
>in Iraq to the economy, Bush and his friends are trying to distract voters
>from the real issues by turning to the politics of division and hate.
>
>If America stands for anything, it stands for equal rights and
>opportunities for everyone. Throughout our history, we've struggled to
>guarantee that equality: ending slavery; securing voting rights for women;
>and passing the Civil Rights Act just 40 years ago.
>
>Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't
>let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who
>they are or who they love.
>
>When two people make a deep personal commitment, taking responsibility for
>each other and doing all the work of marriage, they should be able to share
>in the legal benefits of marriage as well. These benefits include access
>to health care and medical decision-making for one's partner and children,
>parenting and immigration rights, inheritance, taxation, and Social
>Security benefits.
>
>This isn't a partisan issue, notwithstanding Bush's pandering to his
>right-wing base. Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, said this
>about same-sex couples and marriage: "I think they ought to be treated
>equally. Period." [1] Also, many major corporations, including Chrysler,
>Ford, General Motors, Disney, Coors, and IBM, offer health insurance and
>other benefits to their employees' same-sex partners. Senator Lincoln
>Chafee (R-RI) says the amendment is "Nuts... To be seen as the party that's
>coming between two people that love each other doing what they want to
>do... to me that's going to be seen as a liability, politically." [2]
>Yet President Bush is bent on moving America backward, by enshrining
>discrimination in the United States Constitution.
>Don't let him divide us like this. Go to:
> http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
>Please help make sure your friends have signed on too, before we deliver
>this petition tomorrow.
>
>Thank you.
>Sincerely,
>- Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
> The MoveOn.org team
> Monday, July 12th, 2004
>Dear MoveOn member,
>In less than 48 hours, Congress will vote on an amendment to the U.S.
>Constitution that would permanently deny marriage equality to same-sex
>couples. This is unprecedented -- never before has our Constitution been
>amended to take away anyone's rights. We've got to fight back.
>
>Please sign on to our emergency petition to Congress to stop this divisive
>amendment at:
> http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
>Then please ask your friends and family to sign, by forwarding them this
>email. We'll deliver our comments tomorrow, before the vote, so we need as
>many people as possible to sign on today.
>President Bush campaigned on a promise to unite us, not divide us. Yet
>today, as people are questioning Bush's handling of everything from the war
>in Iraq to the economy, Bush and his friends are trying to distract voters
>from the real issues by turning to the politics of division and hate.
>
>If America stands for anything, it stands for equal rights and
>opportunities for everyone. Throughout our history, we've struggled to
>guarantee that equality: ending slavery; securing voting rights for women;
>and passing the Civil Rights Act just 40 years ago.
>
>Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't
>let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who
>they are or who they love.
>
>When two people make a deep personal commitment, taking responsibility for
>each other and doing all the work of marriage, they should be able to share
>in the legal benefits of marriage as well. These benefits include access
>to health care and medical decision-making for one's partner and children,
>parenting and immigration rights, inheritance, taxation, and Social
>Security benefits.
>
>This isn't a partisan issue, notwithstanding Bush's pandering to his
>right-wing base. Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, said this
>about same-sex couples and marriage: "I think they ought to be treated
>equally. Period." [1] Also, many major corporations, including Chrysler,
>Ford, General Motors, Disney, Coors, and IBM, offer health insurance and
>other benefits to their employees' same-sex partners. Senator Lincoln
>Chafee (R-RI) says the amendment is "Nuts... To be seen as the party that's
>coming between two people that love each other doing what they want to
>do... to me that's going to be seen as a liability, politically." [2]
>Yet President Bush is bent on moving America backward, by enshrining
>discrimination in the United States Constitution.
>Don't let him divide us like this. Go to:
> http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/
>Please help make sure your friends have signed on too, before we deliver
>this petition tomorrow.
>
>Thank you.
>Sincerely,
>- Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
> The MoveOn.org team
> Monday, July 12th, 2004