Equal Rights For All Petition Cover

Equal rights for all Petition

Sponsor ___________________ Ryan A. Rush

Sponsor ___________________ Joe Paone

This petition is to a sign of reflection to get rid of discrimination towards homosexuals by extending equal rights of marriage to them and give them the equal opportunity to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces. Giving equal rights to all is a vital need to a nation such as ours, The United States of America, to be the greatest nation in the world. REASONS: 1.) Everyone should have equal rights, that is why they are called equal and rights. 2.) Discrimination and or hate crimes are a federal offense by law, why should they stop at sexual orientation. There should be no hate crimes and or discrimination for anyone, regardless of their color of their skin, where they come from, what name they call god, what gender they are or consider them self to be, or whom they love. None of these should prevent equal rights. 3.) Marriage is recognized by the government, not, necessarily, by religious factors. Therefore the government is not allowed, by law, to discriminate. 4.) If a church and or religion do not want to recognize a marriage between two people of the same-sex then that is their right, we do not want to rewrite and or dictate the religion. However, more and more religious places of worship are accepting same-sex marriage and support it, as it is practice of a beneficial monogamous relationship. 5.) Same-sex marriage is not a liberal for and conservative against issue. Many conservatives are supportive of same-sex marriage, as one of the basic platform stances of conservatives is freedom. 6.) There are at least 1,049 protections, benefits and responsibilities extended to married couples under federal law, according to a 1997 study by the General Accounting Office. Gay and lesbian couples in lifelong relationships pay higher taxes and are denied basic protections under the law. They receive no Social Security survivor benefits upon the death of a partner, despite paying payroll taxes. They must pay federal income taxes on their employer’s contributions toward their domestic partner’s health insurance, while married employees do not have to pay such taxes for their spouses. They must pay all estate taxes when a partner dies. They often pay significant tax penalties when they inherit a 401(k) from their partner. They are denied family leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. All American families deserve these crucial protections.

7.) Civil Unions are as equal to “Separate but Equal” enough said. 8.) There are an estimate 65,000 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexuals, and Transgender (GLBT) serving in the U.S. Armed Forces right now. If they were all “Outed” for being closeted then that would be a major impact on the armed forces because these people would have to leave. 9.) The “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars. 10.) By result of many polls, majority of Americans want openly GLBT people to be allowed to server openly in the Armed Forces. Including: 80% of Democrats, 66% of Conservatives, and 60% of weekly churchgoers. 11.) Majority of High Ranking Armed Forces officials support having openly GLBT people be able to serve openly. In December of 2007, 28 retired Generals and Admirals urged Congress to repeal the policy. They cited evidence that 65,000 GLBT people serve in the US Armed Forces and that there are over 1,000,000 GLBT veterans alive today in the US, who deserve the same respect, benefits, and rights are any other veteran of war. 12.) GLBT people are as just patriotic as straight citizens, GLBT want to be able to serve in the army as who they truly are, and not on how the Government tells them to be.

"When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one." LEONARD MATLOVICH

"No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only queer people are those who don't love anybody." RITA MAE BROWN By: Ryan A. Rush