Freedom to Marry calls on President Obama to get it right on marriage
June 30, 2011
By Katie Garcia, Freedom to Marry's Communications Intern
Yesterday, Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry, issued a statement in response to President Obama’s remarks at yesterday’s press conference press conference regarding the roles of the states and the federal government on marriage.
Evan Wolfson states:
“The President is wrong -- historically, constitutionally, politically, and morally -- when he suggests that marriage is a matter solely for the states. States issue marriage licenses, but must do so under the Constitution's guarantees of freedom and equal protection. It is time for the President to join the majority of Americans whose thinking and understanding, like his, have evolved, and speak up in support of the freedom to marry as a cherished personal commitment and protected constitutional right.”
This call comes after nearly 115,000 Americans joined Freedom to Marry’s Say, “I Do” campaign, signing an open letter to the President asking him to support the freedom to marry. Prominent signers of the letter include Caroline Kennedy, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Jane Lynch, Jack Dorsey (creator of Twitter), Chris Hughes (co-founder of Facebook), Sean Parker (co-founder of Napster), civil rights icons Julian Bond (Chairman Emeritus, NAACP), Helen Fabela Chavez (widow of Cesar Chavez and founder of Cesar E. Chavez Foundation), and Rev. Peter Morales (president, Unitarian Universalist Association ). For full list of the original signers, click here.
Freedom to Marry urges President Obama to hear the call of the majority of American citizens who want the freedom to marry in their states and their nation.