FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
March 26, 2013 Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments on two cases involving marriage equality for same-sex couples; the cases examine the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8. NCLR (National Council of La Raza) hopes that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of fairness and recognize that equal protection in marriage is not a privilege but a fundamental right that should no longer be withheld from millions of LGBT Americans who love and are committed to their partners.
“When one group is denied the dignity and the right to marry, it diminishes us all,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR. “We stand with our LGBT brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and sons and daughters, many of whom are Latino, and call upon the Supreme Court to make the right choice and extend the freedom to marry to the LGBT community.”
Last year, NCLR become one of the first national Latino organizations to endorse marriage equality, with the unanimous backing of the NCLR Board of Directors. Numerous studies, including a study released last year by NCLR, show that, like the majority of Americans, more than one-half of Hispanics support marriage equality.
The Supreme Court decision is particularly important for Latinos in immigrant families because many same-sex binational couples are prohibited from petitioning for a foreign-born partner to receive permanent residence and citizenship. Many spouses have had no choice but to return to their country of origin, often separating not only from their partner, but also from their children. In fact, in nearly one-half of the binational LGBT couples facing separation, one of the partners is Hispanic.
“There is no community that values family more than the Latino community,” Murguía added. “Our policies should not separate families due to their immigration status, sexual orientation or anything else. To us, familia es familia (family is family), whether it’s headed by a mom and a dad, two dads, or two moms. We should do everything in our power to protect families and keep them together.”
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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