Minnesota Atheists Public Policy Paper on GLBT Rights
Minnesota Atheists Public Policy Position Paper
(Written for Minnesota Atheists by August Berkshire)
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Rights
Minnesota Atheists supports equal rights for all citizens regardless of sexual orientation. This support is based on two rules of law:
1. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states “…nor shall any State… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Thus the Equal Protection Clause demands that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) citizens be treated the same under the law as heterosexual citizens. We are particularly concerned with countering religious groups that wish to limit equal protection under the law due to their religious dogma.
2. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The Establishment Clause has been interpreted in Supreme Court decisions to place the following restrictions on government:
a) Secular laws must have a secular basis.
Any law that would reduce the rights of any class of citizens must have a secular justification. There is no secular reason to deny equal rights and equal protection under the law due to a person’s sexual orientation.
b) Religious tenets for which the only basis is belief in the supernatural should not become civil law. To turn such religious tenets into civil law is to create a theocracy.
Religious arguments against equal rights and equal protection under the law for GLBT people are based solely on belief in a particular type of god who advocates limiting such rights and protections. As we cannot demonstrate that this god exists, much less confirm its instructions to humanity, we cannot base any secular laws on this supernatural belief.
The Principle of Equality in Practice
Minnesota Atheists’ support for equal rights for all citizens regardless of sexual orientation includes, but is not limited to, the equal right to a civil marriage, with all the accompanying benefits and responsibilities; equal rights to fertility treatments and adoption; the right to openly identify one’s sexual orientation and serve in the military; and the equal right not to be discriminated against in employment and housing. Minnesota Atheists takes no position on what the state chooses to call its civil marriage contracts (e.g. “marriage,” “civil union,” “domestic partnership,” etc.) so long as the same term is used equally for both straight and gay people.
