PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
HALT the HARM - Stop Advocacy by USCCB and NAE Causing Harm to LGBT Community
  1. Signatures
    496 out of 5,000
    Petitioning
    1. Bishop of Salt Lake City USCCB (+ 3 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Bishop of Salt Lake City USCCB (Rev. John C. Wester)
      • Migration and refugee Services USCCB (Mr. Kevin Appleby)
      • Director of Government Affairs NAE (Mr. Galen Carey)
      • Executive Director NAE (Mr. Todd Bassett)
  2. Created By
    Melanie Nathan
    Woodacre, CA
About this Petition Petition Letter

Press Release - June 04, 2010.

Today Independent Activists launched a Campaign to engage the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Associations of Evangelicals requesting that they cease and desist from the continued lobby activities against LGBT equality Legislation.

Religious groups should not be advocating against basic human rights and dignity, under our Constitution - because this advocacy cases  direct harm to our peoples and violates the social compact.

On June 9th The USCCB and NAE have announced a full Page ad in various Newspapers to announce that they will be Lobbying in D.C. for Comprehensive immigration reform. They plan to emphasize their objection to the LGBT immigration equality language that is currently present in the recently introduced Framework for immigration reform.

October of 2009, the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security held a hearing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Theodore Cardinal McCarrick Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C. provided testimony:

“Comprehensive immigration reform: Faith-Based Perspectives October 8, 2009.” where he stated in overt exclusion and direct opposition to S. 424, the Uniting American Families Act.   

“Mr. Chairman, we are opposed to the inclusion of S. 424, the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), in comprehensive immigration reform legislation.  The legislation would permit same-sex partners to enjoy the same immigration benefits as married couples in our immigration system.  While our tradition and teaching values all persons as children of God, we believe that the enactment of UAFA would erode the institution of marriage and family by according marriage-like immigration benefits to same sex relationships, a position that is contrary to the very nature of marriage, which pre-dates the Church and the state.  We also believe its inclusion into comprehensive immigration reform would add another controversial issue to an already polarized and divisive debate.”

The Petition, a letter addressed to officials at USCCB and NFA was launched today by LGBT and Human Rights Activists, including Todd Fernandez and Melanie Nathan (Private Courts Inc. and www.lezgetreal.com) and calls for a stop to the general harm caused by advocacy against the LGBT community and a statement by these Organizations declaring neutrality when it comes to civil rights and legislation that impacts LGBT Equality.  

Excerpt: “From this day forward, we intend to hold the USCCB and the NAE, and their representatives, directly accountable for the harm caused to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people stemming from their political opposition to our legal equality and their painful homophobic advocacy, which lacks even basic respect for our fundamental existence.


Indeed, our human dignity demands it, as would yours should you find your religion and right to exist similarly undermined and persecuted.

As an indication of your good faith, we ask that the USCCB and the NAE issue a statement of political neutrality on all matters of LGBT human rights and equality under the law.”

Contextual Information: http://lezgetreal.com/2010/06/activists-call-halt-the-harm-june-9th-anti-uafa-lobby-by-catholic-bishops-evangelicals/  

Thank You for getting this out there….

Please help support our desire to engage those who seek to invalidate us.

Thank you,

Independent Activists:-
Melanie Nathan and Todd Fernandez.

 

Please read the Supporting article at http://lezgetreal.com/2010/06/activists-call-halt-the-harm-june-9th-anti-uafa-lobby-by-catholic-bishops-evangelicals/

Recent Signatures

A Plea to Stop Harm Caused by Advocacy Against LGBT Civil Legislation

Greetings,

June, 04 - 2010

To the: Honorable Representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals,

There is a crime at work when society takes a young child and teaches him to hate himself so much that he becomes George Rekers. When this happens, as it does daily, we have failed our primary shared responsibility: to protect our children from harm.

Yet this is the suffering inflicted by the unrelenting advocacy against LGBT equality and basic human dignity propagated by you in legislative forums throughout the country.

From murder to depression to suicide, this fueled societal homophobia wreaks havoc on generation after generation, every day, and every hour. Due largely to your work, LGBT people are not safe and their dignity is systematically under attack.

Given the overwhelming evidence of injury, at this point we consider your involvement in perpetrating this harm to be an act of violence against our community. Today, we say that advocacy must end.

Regardless of the teachings of one bible, our social compact in the United States is founded upon a Constitution. As such, equality for LGBT Americans under the law cannot be held hostage to any religious viewpoint, and nor should you try; it betrays our duty as citizens.

The system itself demands a degree of mutual respect and deference, which allows for both the sanctity of your beliefs and houses of worship, and our right to live and work in safety. Clearly, both parties have to respect that relationship for it to work.

In this spirit, we urge you to cease your political advocacy against our human rights in every piece of legislation, state and federal, and on every topic, including marriage.

Our Country's founding promise that we each enjoy the pursuit of happiness can no longer be denied us, and nor should you try. Clearly, the civil rights conferred by marriage do not belong to any specific Church, and many other faiths reject your claim on the institution and the word. This hubris underlies much of the Catholic Churches’ misguided history, and it is time to stop it.

From this day forward, we intend to hold the USCCB and the NAE, and their representatives, directly accountable for the harm caused to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people stemming from their political opposition to our legal equality and their painful homophobic advocacy, which lacks even basic respect for our fundamental existence.

Indeed, our human dignity demands it, as would yours should you find your religion and right to exist similarly undermined and persecuted.

As an indication of your good faith, we ask that the USCCB and the NAE issue a statement of political neutrality on all matters of LGBT human rights and equality under the law.

Once you have taken that righteous step, we look forward to forging a mutually respectful co-existence with you in the United States.

Sincerely,
Melanie Nathan, B.A. LL.B LLM
J. Todd Fernandez, JD, LLM

Signed in support of all members of the
LGBT Community in the United States of America.
Contact: Nathan@privatecourts.com

[Your name]

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