Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 212-633-4150;
Carol Gregory, [email protected], (o)202-675-8759, (m)202-413-8531, @AIUSAmedia
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Frank Jannuzi, deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA, issued the following comments in response to the Supreme Court ruling today on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8:
"We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Section 3 of DOMA to ensure that legally married same-sex couples can access federal benefits. However, we are concerned about the Court’s decision on California’s Proposition 8 which effectively punts on the issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples throughout the United States.
Marriage equality for same-sex couples is a human right. By effectively denying recognition of marriage rights for same-sex couples outside of the state of California, the Court has allowed to continue a discriminatory legal system that also prevents many people from accessing a range of other rights, such as rights to housing and health care, and stigmatizes those relationships in ways that can fuel discrimination and other human rights abuses against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity."
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists, and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth, and dignity are denied.