Last Summer, I had the privilege of attending the wedding of two dear friends. Theirs is a beautiful story. They met in Boston while in law school and medical school. They have supported each other through thick, thin, good, bad, sickness and health. They are one of those couples you want to spend time with in the hopes that something rubs off. The love and respect they have for each other is apparent and enviable. They are bright, generous, successful, socially responsible and gay.
Their wedding was presided over by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in his chambers at Los Angeles City Hall. It was a moving ceremony as they had been together for 12 years prior and were finally able to choose to marry in the way that most of their friends had years before. We celebrated with an intimate dinner later that night. Not a single one of us in attendance was anything but thrilled for Joe and Paul and grateful for the rights they had finally been granted on that day.
That was July 08. In November 08, Prop 8 was passed and the validity of their marriage, like many others in California, hangs in the balance. Paul shared with me an open letter that he wrote to President Obama. I am reprinting it here and asking you to consider sharing it with whomever you think would be interested or would listen.
Dear President Obama,
I’m writing to you, as a member of a minority group, seeking your opinion regarding your views on “equal protection under the law”. I am a citizen of the United States, I am gay, and therefore am a member of a minority group. The debate regarding same sex civil marriages has recently hit fever pitch in this country. Recently, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed his state's same-sex marriage bill less than an hour after the legislature approved it. He stated, "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
I’m writing to you, as a member of a minority group, seeking your opinion regarding your views on “equal protection under the law”. I am a citizen of the United States, I am gay, and therefore am a member of a minority group. The debate regarding same sex civil marriages has recently hit fever pitch in this country. Recently, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed his state's same-sex marriage bill less than an hour after the legislature approved it. He stated, "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
Why is it that Federal Law does not seem to uphold the same high standard of fairness and equal protection under the law? In fact, Federal Law actually pro-actively discriminates against couples that legally have same-sex civil marriages. The fact is that the federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The act also specifically denies federal benefits to same-sex couples that have legally state sanctioned civil marriages. The act further dictates that any federal law that applies to married couples does not apply to same-sex couples with legal civil marriages. Furthermore because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act the United States Census Bureau is currently “editing” the 2010 census responses of same-sex couples that married legally in California, Massachusetts, Iowa, Maine, and Connecticut. Does that sound like the United States of America? When asked to describe their relationships to others in their household, if a respondent refers to a person of the same gender as their "husband/wife" on the 2010 census form, the Census Bureau will automatically assign them to the "unmarried partner" category. Legally married same-sex couples will be indistinguishable in census data from those who chose "unmarried partner" to describe their relationship. The federal government does not count us, and apparently according to the government we don’t count.
As a physician radiation oncologist who treats hundreds of indigent/ un-insured, as well as, insured patients (straight and gay) annually at the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center and the USC/Norris Cancer Hospital, I am particularly outraged at the fact that the federal government continues to discriminate against legal same-sex couples and their children and family members by specifically leaving them out of the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This Act requires covered employers to give eligible employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for their own serious health condition or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Currently, the FMLA does not require employers to provide leave to care for a legally married same-sex spouse. Are we not human? Do we not deserve the same compassion and assurances from our government to which we pay taxes, as other citizens of the United States? Is this consistent with “fairness” and “
equal protection under the law”?
equal protection under the law”?
How would you feel if this country still denied inter-racial marriages simply because 51% of the population felt they were immoral or un-ethical or unnatural? The state of Hawaii, not the United States of America, allowed your parents to marry in 1961. There was a lack of federal leadership, yet finally in 1968 all state inter-racial bans on marriage were thrown out. This was a very long time to wait for equality, in fact, as I’m sure you are aware the fight for inter-racial marriage began in 1948, it took 20 years of states arguing, state constitutions being “amended” to allow discrimination (sound familiar), until all the madness was finally overturned by the federal government because they finally did the right thing and gave these citizens equal protection under the law.
As Americans did we not learn from our ugly history? As an African American growing up in the United States, you of all people, should recognize the need for federal regulation to protect and treat all citizens equally. Why do you feel gays who chose to have a civil marriage, should be treated differently than inter-racial couples? Why does the “equal protection under the law” clause in our constitution not apply to us? If you think homosexuality is a lifestyle choice that can somehow be overcome, and therefore not be given an equal if not protected status, then I ask you to think about this. Suppose someone told you, you could not have federal recognition and rights under marriage, you could not be counted in the census and that your responses to the census will be edited, and you could not benefit from the Family Medical Leave Act, unless you were forced to separate from Michelle, the person you love dearly, and marry another man. If you did that then you would be recognized as married. How unnatural would that feel for you? Get the point? We are born gay, just as you were born black. No difference. Just as you had no choice in being born black, we had no choice in being born gay. Furthermore, you certainly can't argue that you "chose" to be heterosexual; it is a ludicrous argument when people say we "choose to be gay". We certainly have more similarities in our plight for equal protection under the law than differences. Remember, this is not a religious argument, it is a civil rights argument. We don’t want to force religions to accept gay marriage; we just want equal protection under the law. We don’t want to force anyone into saying they believe in gay marriage, everyone has the right to believe what they want. We want to be treated equally and with dignity; and not ostracized by our federal government.
President Obama, I am asking you to think about your own experiences growing up in this country as a minority, and how helpful the federal government was in assuring you equal protection and equal rights under the law. My husband and I are law abiding, federal tax paying citizens, who contribute greatly to our community and society at large; we along with millions of other same sex couples are simply asking to be treated equally by our government. Is that too much to ask for in the country for which you are president? I am calling upon you, President Obama, to stand up to the narrow-minded bigotry that has made its way into federal law and to do the right thing. I am calling upon you to forcefully overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act. I am calling upon you to be the agent of change, which you had talked about during your campaign. I am calling upon you do to do what is right and just, and treat all Americans equally. I am calling upon you to help secure passage of the bill now moving through Congress imposing new federal penalties for anti-gay hate crimes, as well as legislation allowing gays to serve in the military. I am calling upon you to call for vast federal civil rights legislation, outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and granting us a basic umbrella of protections in employment, education, and housing.
Like you, I believe that everyone can help contribute to change for the better in our country. Change we can believe in. Five states have legalized same sex civil marriages; several are well on their way. We need a leader to insure equality. It took twenty years for the federal government to put an end to all the anti inter-racial marriage bans in this country, how long we will have to wait?
Sincerely,
Paul G. Pagnini, M.D.
Los Angeles, CA
Paul G. Pagnini, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology
Radiation Oncology Residency Program Director
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital
Sincerely,
Paul G. Pagnini, M.D.
Los Angeles, CA
Paul G. Pagnini, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology
Radiation Oncology Residency Program Director
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital
