[Archived] Alexandria City Council Passes Resolution On Proposed Constitutional Amendments Defining Marriage

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

For Immediate Release
March 17, 2005
PIO 078-05/rdo

Alexandria City Council Passes Resolution
On Proposed Constitutional Amendments Defining Marriage

The Alexandria City Council passed a resolution at its March 8 legislative meeting declaring its opposition to any proposed federal or state constitutional amendments defining marriage as only between a man and a woman and reaffirming the City’s Human Rights Ordinance. The resolution states that constitutional amendments at the federal or state levels defining marriage as only between a man and a woman intentionally discriminate against lesbians and gay men by denying them access to the protections, benefits and responsibilities extended through civil marriage. These proposals restrict civil rights and appeal to prejudices and fears rather than to equality and justice.

The City Council urged the City’s congressional delegation, Senators John Warner and George Allen, and Congressman James Moran, to pursue policies that affirm individual and family rights for all citizens, support local efforts to create inclusive and diverse communities, and create the federal legal atmosphere necessary for equality in civil rights.

The City Council passed the Alexandria Human Rights Ordinance thirty years ago on March 25, 1975, and created the Human Rights Commission that same year to advise the City Council and to oversee the Office of Human Rights. The Office of Human Rights enforces the City’s Human Rights Ordinance, which precludes discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation (added as a protected class in 1988) or disability.

For more information on the City’s Human Rights Ordinance, call the Jean Niebauer, Director of the Office of Human Rights, at 703.838.6390.

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