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Marriage Equality
Howie Hawkins on Marriage Equality |
Howie Hawkins and the Green Party support full marriage rights for all New Yorkers regardless of sexual orientation.
Sen. Hillary Clinton supports outlawing same-sex marriages. Clinton has opposed same-sex marriages since her husband signed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages.
Howie Hawkins opposed the proposal by the US Senate for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
"It is a travesty that the Court of Appeals refused to follow the leadership of Chief Judge Judith Kaye in recognizing that the constitutional right to marriages extends to all New Yorkers. The right to marry is a fundamental human right. If two people love each other and wish to enter into a permanent legal relationship as equal partners in a marriage, they should be free to do so. As a Green, I am very proud of the leadership role played by New Paltz Mayor Jason West in refusing to participate in the denial of equal rights to all Americans," Hawkins added.
"It saddens me that politicians like Bush and Clinton feel the need to attack the rights of individuals to affirm their life commitment to one another. Our political leaders should be helping to build families, not tear them apart. The provision of full legal rights for all individuals regardless of their sexual orientation is long overdue in our country," noted Hawkins.
The Green Party has a long tradition of promoting full civil rights to gays and lesbians. Jason West, the Green Party Mayor of New Paltz, helped launch the nationwide movement for marriage equality when he began performing marriage ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.
The Empire State Pride Agenda, a civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, identifies 1,138 rights and responsibilities from the federal government and another 700 rights and responsibilities from New York government that are bestowed on partners in civil marriage. These rights and responsibilities include health insurance coverage, medical decision-making authority for a spouse, inheritance rights, divorce, child adoption, immunity from having to testify against a spouse in court, pensions, and Workers Compensation death benefits. |
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 *Website by David Doonan, Labor Donated to Hawkins for Senate Campaign* |
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