Oakland, CA (July 28, 2022) -- Today, Oakland Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, along with Council President Nikki Bas, Councilmember Carroll Fife, President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao, and LGBTQ+ Elected Officials and Community Leaders, is sending a letter of support for H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to marriage equality under federal law. The letter states impart:
“Given the phrasing in some of the opinions in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, our fundamental civil liberties, including our freedom to love, marry, and raise a family with the partner of our choosing, are at risk.
The Supreme Court has made it clear that they will not only stand in the way of progress, but could overturn precedents in an effort to reverse progress. Legally married same-sex couples and their families could be denied the 1,100 federal benefits and protections afforded to opposite-sex married couples, such as Social Security survivor benefits and Family and Medical Leave Act. This kind of blatant discrimination is fundamentally incompatible with the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and morally abhorrent. Congress can and must push back against these attacks on the LGBTQ+ community by taking a firm stand in support of equality.
We applaud the 220 Democrats and 47 Republicans who supported the Respect for Marriage Act, and passed it on the floor of the House of Representatives. We encourage the Senate to follow suit and pass H.R. 8404 before the summer recess.”
Link to the full letter in support of H.R 8404
If community members would like to join in co-signing the letter they may do so through this LINK.
Resolution Urging The California State Legislature To Defend Marriage Equality By Putting A Measure To Rescind Proposition 8 on the Ballot
On July 26th, the Oakland City Council voted to approve the resolution introduced by Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and Council President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao, reaffirming the City of Oakland’s support of marriage equality for the LGBTQ+ community and calling on the California State Legislature to heed the growing call for protecting marriage equality by putting a measure to repeal Article I Section 7.5 of the State Constitution, similarly known as Proposition 8, onto the ballot.