Lambda Legal Statement Regarding Passage of Antigay Amendment 2 to Texas Constitution

(Dallas, November 9, 2005) — Statements from Lambda Legal Regional Director Dennis Coleman and Senior Staff Attorney Ken Upton upon passage of Amendment 2.

“While this is a disappointing loss we know the battle isn’t over, and it is heartening to see how much energy the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and ally community put into this campaign,” said Dennis Coleman, Regional Director of Lambda Legal’s South Central Regional Office in Dallas. “We will sustain that energy and keep talking to our friends and neighbors about why equality is so important to us.”

Voters throughout the state supported limiting marriage to one man and one woman. Texas is the nineteenth state to explicitly define marriage as an institution reserved for different-sex couples.

“In other states we have seen those who are against equality for gay people use amendments like this one to launch all kinds of attacks against the LGBT community,” said Ken Upton, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal’s South Central Regional Office in Dallas. “Now that the amendment has passed, we will be watching to make sure that it is not used as a weapon against same-sex couples.”

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.