Wooohooo Ted Kennedy!

Title of the email was Bigotry Denied

Dear Lonestarnot (I changed the name),

Thanks to an outpouring of support from across the country,
your voice was heard this week on the Senate floor. The
so-called Federal Marriage Amendment was defeated and the
Constitution was protected.

I was particularly moved by the comments so many of you made
and your powerful testimonials and passionate calls for
fairness and equality. You are not alone. Americans from all
walks of life and from every state came out strongly against
bigotry and prejudice and in favor of equality, and that
groundswell of support defined this debate.

I'd like to share these moving appeals with my colleagues. As
Democrats urge the Senate to work on issues that matter, I
want to offer one more opportunity to share your personal
story or thoughts on the issue. It's important for Senators to
know that hateful political tactics like this affect real
people - and offer thanks when they reject the politics of
discrimination. Your comments will be delivered to the
Senators who voted to reject this despicable proposal.

Add your personal story or comment here:

http://www.tedkennedy.com/FMAcomments

Thousands of people like you in every part of the country told
Congress to concentrate on issues that matter to working
Americans. Improving education and health care, ending the war
in Iraq, rewarding the value of work by raising the minimum
wage - action on these and many other priorities will do far
more for our country than the Republicans' disgraceful effort
to discriminate against millions of decent Americans.

The politics of the Federal Marriage Amendment were driven by
bigotry and division. It's gratifying that Republican Senate
leaders couldn't even produce a majority for it, let alone the
two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution. Gay and
lesbian families who share their lives together, and who seek
the simple grace of a government that acknowledges their
equality, deserve our protection and our respect.

Thank you again for taking timely action at an important
moment. I appreciate your support. Your commitment to protect
the freedoms of all Americans is very inspiring.

Sincerely,

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

P.S. -- Here are just a few of the comments people like you
sent in from Massachusetts and all across the country:

From Massachusetts:

Maria from Massachusetts
I live in Massachusetts. I've lived here all my life. My
marriage of nearly 21 years has not been and will not be
threatened by the fact that gay couples can now legally marry
here. In fact, the last I heard, Massachusetts has the lowest
divorce rate in the country. In my view, this is an issue of
civil rights, nothing else. And I profoundly resent that the
Senate is wasting my hard earned dollars on this stunt.

Eileen from Massachusetts
It's time for our elected officials to do our country's work
-- not waste precious time on issues that do nothing to help
resolve today's difficult and important problems.

Rachel from Massachusetts
I'm a minister who performed a civil marriage for a wonderful,
loving lesbian couple in my congregation two years ago. They
would be devastated to see their marriage dissolved. So this
issue is very real to me.

Richard from Massachusetts
Please, do not codify discrimination by opting to vote it into
our constitution. Certainly the founding fathers could not
have had such a thought when they began their expression of a
new, civil society with the words all are created equal with
certain inalienable tights ... thank you for your NO vote on
the F.M.A. Arleen from Massachusetts Why on earth would
anyone want to prevent either of my two gay children from
marrying someone they want to spend the rest of their lives
with and who on earth would want to deny them the same rights,
privileges, and benefits of married life as other United
States citizens. Whose heterosexual marriage has been hurt by
the marriage of my son to his (and our) beloved partner and
who would deprive my beautiful grandchildren from knowing that
their beloved parents are married in the eyes of the civil and
religious worlds. Please keep up the fight to defeat such
awful aims. What is happening to our wonderful country?

Mathew from Massachusetts
One day soon, people will look back proudly at what
Massachusetts had the courage to do for her citizens. If you
really want to "defend" marriage, don't make it into a
political football legislated by Congress ... let it remain a
commitment made freely between two individuals.

Thomas from Massachusetts
The FMA is a repulsive bit of pandering to the worst impulses
of human nature. This country will not remain great with
policies of exclusion and repression, despite the best efforts
of the present administration and Republican-controlled
Congress.

Edward from Massachusetts
It is the unpopular freedoms that most need protecting. It is
absurd to justify a restriction of rights in our Constitution
by saying that "most" Americans are against same-sex unions.
There was a time, not so long ago, when most Americans were
against interracial marriages, too. Would today's Republican
party try to use the Constitution entrusted to us to restrict
marriage freedoms in that way as well? HANDS OFF the
Constitution, unless you're going to expand liberty rather
than constrain it further than it already is.

From around the country:

Lisa from Connecticut
As a lesbian woman who lives in Connecticut, my partner of 15
years and I had a civil union on Oct. 1st of 2005. Thinking
that it would finally afford me the right to go onto her
health insurance, I was sadly mistaken. Apparently, her
company is "federally exempted" from allowing same-sex couples
from having a medical family plan. Then, last month we tried
to get life insurance and were told that we could not be on
the same policy as a same-sex couple. It would cost us $400.00
more per year to have separate policies. This is outrageous,
and entirely prejudicial. ... Aren't we all Americans?

Christina from New Mexico
If you think homosexuality is wrong, don't sleep with people
of the same sex. Otherwise, stay out of people's bedrooms and
people's personal lives. It's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Christine from Virginia
I am gay and have been with my partner for 15 years. We were
able to legally express our love for one another and get
married two years ago! Has the sky fallen since that date? Has
any heterosexual couple lost their ability to get married?
Have they lost any of their rights? The answer is clearly NO
so why do you feel that you now have the right to take this
event and right away from us? Who exactly are you protecting?
Our son would love to know! Families come in all shapes and
sizes ... God loves all of us unconditionally!

Alan from California
With all of the problems facing our country I would think the
Congress of the US could find better issues to deal with than
this ill-thought-out amendment. Have they forgotten about
protecting the rights of the minority against the majority?
Why do they think marriage needs to be protected? Is someone
or something threatening the whole institution of marriage, or
if gay people are allowed to marry does that deny the right of
heterosexual people to marry?

Dan from New York
The proposed Marriage Amendment will do nothing but
discriminate against Americans. As a gay man I have no
intention of breaking up a current straight
marriage/relationship. There is no threat to the traditional
marriages from my partner or me. My biological children have
given full support to my being gay and my partner. I fully
support straight marriages for the honor it lends on their
union. We deserve the same.

Peter from California
I agree with Senator Kennedy ... knock off this divisive and
hateful garbage and do your job -- working to solve the REAL
problems that face working American families.

Fred from Virginia
The proposed amendment is born and bred of bigotry and
underpinned by discrimination, and I don't think those kinds
of sentiments should be enshrined in our Constitution. It's
un-American, un-Western, and uncivilized.

Patricia from Florida
Not only in our Constitution, but also in God's eyes, all
people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally. No
man has the right to tell another how he or she should live,
especially if they are following the rules of a good society.
The thought or idea of a Federal Marriage Law is over the line
and pure discrimination. I reject it.

Christine from New York
I agree with Sen. Kennedy, we cannot allow bigotry and
discrimination to be written in to our Constitution! In
addition, there are so many really important issues to deal
with -- the war in Iraq, true homeland security, global
warming, minimum wage levels, health care for all, preparation
for hurricane season (and repair of what was damaged last
year) -- that it is unbelievable that the president and the
Republicans in Congress want to spend time on the issue of gay
marriage! It is such a clear example of pandering to the
extreme right in order to whip up a frenzy in order to get
panicked extremists to the polls in November.

Lucile from Ohio
I am totally opposed amending the Constitution to impose
restrictions on any individual in America from having fair
access to our laws.

Michael from Washington
My partner and I have been together for over ten years and are
more stable in our relationship than many, if not most
straight couples. Denying us our rights as Americans to equal
treatment under the law is simply "un-American."

Charles from Missouri
The FMA is a very transparent attempt to divert attention from
the problems created by the administration and the resulting
public backlash. It seems like the only state with moral and
ethical backbone is Massachusetts, the state that recognizes
gay and lesbian rights and universal health insurance. I'm
proud to say I was born and raised there.

Thank you for caring and getting involved.
Thanks to you and all those who stepped up.
You're becoming a star-filled sky.

UNELECTABLE

Best compliment I've ever had at DU! A star filled sky! Excellent. Gives me goosebumps at the thought! Come on November!