(San Francisco, Tuesday, February 24, 2004) Speech by SF LGBT Community Center Executive Director Thom Lynch at Press Conference with The Center, ACLU, NCLR, EqCA, and the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco:

“The Center joined with the Metropolitan Community Church, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality California, the ACLU, and others to call for this conference today to denounce this mornings terrible call for a constitutional amendment against marriage equality.President Bush has cemented his place in history as anything but a compassionate conservative. He has shown over and over again in his administration that he is about destroying rather than building, dividing rather than uniting, winning rather than leading, and intolerance rather than community.

He once again has shown a unilateral disregard for the rights, concerns, and beliefs of anyone else. He has no interest in debate, only in inflicting his intolerance on the American people. What makes this country great is our long march to an ever expanding group included in our civil liberties. In 1790 George Washington said "As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."

This community center will do all it can to fight any attempt to make us second class citizens.”