End Bigotry in Venango County: Stand Up and Be Counted!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Stand Up and Be Counted!

This is beyond outrageous.

Census Bureau officials announced that they would waste time and money to remove any same-sex couple from being listed as married in the 2010 census survey. This expensive and insulting policy — a holdover from the Bush administration — simply cannot stand.

Yep, you heard me right. The census is supposed to count every head in the nation and punish those who lie on their surveys. But, in our community, the Census Bureau actually plans to spend money to go line by line un-counting our relationships — even our legally recognized marriages in California, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

You can help make sure our relationships stay visible. Stand up and be counted — sign our petition to the Census Bureau now demanding that our marriages be counted.

So, why go through all this trouble to pretend we don’t exist? A Census Bureau official actually said that, “This is all about the numbers. This is not about lifestyle or anything else.”

Lifestyle? Numbers? Is that what the Census Bureau thinks of our loving relationships?

This decision is a slap in the face to our community. The census may seem trivial, but the count will be used by Congress and federal agencies to distribute money, government resources and even representation in Congress for a decade to come.

More importantly, it’s just the latest example of our own government refusing to recognize the basic equality of our relationships to those of any straight couple. And this time, we won’t stay silent. Tell the Census Bureau that the time for these kinds of divisive policies is over.

Fortunately, it’s not too late for this decision to be overturned and for the bureau to start on the long road to a wholly inclusive census. With one stroke of the pen, President Obama can make sure our marriages are counted. But it can only happen if we make sure our voices are heard loud and clear today.

Everybody and every relationship should count in America; it's time the census counts our marriages too.

Sincerely,

Rea Carey,
Executive Director,
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

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Principles for Equality

FULL CIVIL RIGHTS GOALS

Being united by common principles and engaging in united action, we will strive to achieve the following goals:

1.DIGNITY AND EQUALITY. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person has inherent dignity and worth, and has the right to live free of discrimination and harassment.

2.FAMILY. Every LGBT person has the right to a family without legal barriers to immigration, civil marriage or raising children.

3.ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. Every LGBT person has the right to economic opportunity free from discrimination in employment, public housing, accommodation, public facilities, credit, and federally funded programs and activities.

4.EDUCATION. Every LGBT child and youth has the right to an education that is affirming, inclusive and free from bullying.

5.NATIONAL SECURITY. Every LGBT person should have the opportunity to serve our country openly and equally in our military and foreign service.

6.CRIME. Every LGBT person should enjoy life protected against bias crimes.

7.HEALTH CARE. Every person should have access to affordable, high quality, and culturally competent health care without discrimination.

The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action. In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now. Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

CALL TO ACTION

1.We demand that government officials act now to achieve full civil rights without delay.

2.Our organizations and individuals need to develop a collaborative and revolutionary new organizing model that mobilizes millions of supporters through emerging web and phone technologies.

3.All LGBT individuals must accept personal responsibility to do everything within their power for equality and should get involved in the movement by volunteering, giving and being out.

4.We will hold elected officials and our organizations accountable for being transparent and achieving full civil rights by active participation when possible and active opposition when necessary.

5.Our allies need to be proactive in public support for full civil rights.

6.Every government measure that quantifies the US citizenry must permit LGBT individuals to self-identify and be counted in every way citizens are counted.

7.We demand that the media present LGBT lives in fair, accurate and objective ways that neither include nor give credence to unsubstantiated, discriminatory claims and opinions.

To join the growing chorus of Americans speaking in unison that now is the time to provide full civil rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens, CLICK HERE.

End Bigotry in Venango County

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Stand Up and Be Counted!

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