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Roberta Sklar, Director of Communications
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President Bush's proclamation in support of 'Marriage Protection Week' is "shocking and appalling" according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

"Marriage is a sacred institution, and its protection is essential to the continued strength of our society. Marriage Protection Week provides an opportunity to focus our efforts on preserving the sanctity of marriage and on building strong and healthy marriages in America."
- President George W. Bush, October 3, 2003

Statement by Matt Foreman, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

"We are shocked, appalled and immensely saddened that President Bush has sanctioned the so-called 'Marriage Protection Week' with an official proclamation. Contrary to his statement, this 'week' has nothing to do with 'building strong and healthy marriages in America.' Rather, it is a bald campaign to demonize and defame gay people and our families, a shameful mixing of religion and politics. This attack is about even more than denying our families equal civil rights and responsibilities that are associated with marriage, but also seeks to deny any legal recognition whatsoever to our families.

The stated purpose of the week on the Alliance for Marriage Web site makes these goals abundantly clear:

"The sacred institution of marriage is under attack. There are those who want to redefine marriage to include two men, or two women, or a group of any size or mix of sexes: One man and four women, one woman and two men, etc. If they fail to secure legal protection classifying these arrangements as 'marriage,' they want to include all these mixtures under the definition of 'civil union,' giving them identical standing with the marriage of one man and one woman."
- "Purpose of Marriage Protection Week," Alliance For Marriage, Allianceformarriage.org.

Through his proclamation, the President is adopting the politics of division and prejudice. He is catering to wealthy and politically powerful organizations intent on permanently relegating a minority to second class citizenship. He is using the civil office of the presidency to support an unprecedented and coordinated drive to use pulpits across the nation to win support for vindictive legislation. Our nation knows from long and painful experience that these tactics only divide and shame our great nation.

We call upon our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers to stand beside gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender America in this terrible and frightening time.

Together, we can prevail."

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ACTION ALERT!

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force strongly urges you to contact the White House and express your disappointment in President Bush's decision to endorse 'Marriage Protection Week' and also contact your elected representatives and ask them to come out against the hateful and hurtful tactics of those behind the so-called "Marriage Protection Week."

Now is the time to tell your family and friends that these attacks directly affect you and your loved ones. They are coming after us with full force, and we simply cannot fight back alone.

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213

E-Mail
President George W. Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Richard Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov

Don't know who your member of Congress is?
Go to the House Web site and the Senate Web site.

Related National Gay and Lesbian Task Force resources:

-Family Policy: Issues Affecting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Families
-President George W. Bush on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues
-2004 Democratic Presidential Candidates on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues
-Know Thy Enemy: Quotes About the Sodomy Ruling and the Same-Sex Marriage Backlash

Reports available at the Task Force: publications library.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.