U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his historic June 26, 5-4 majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, used the word “dignity” nine times. The decision ended state same-sex marriage bans in favor of same-sex wedding bands. Media headlined “dignity” across the nation and the world, forever associating the word with the LGBT struggle for equality.
Same-sex families can now fully realize the long delayed promise of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” for all Americans contained in the Declaration of Independence. Five Supreme Court Justices found the U.S. Constitution afforded same-sex couples the dignity marriage bestows on them and their families.
Newspaper headlines across the country and the globe likewise hailed the dignity of the Supreme Court decision in recognizing same-sex families with all the rights and responsibilities of other families. Now families will be families with dignity and without regard to sexuality.
In one sense, the sexuality war is over; in another sense, it has just begun. It is not, though, politically wise for members of Congress, collectively or individually, to promote an agenda to deny Americans their dignity. Some will try; but they should listen to the wisdom of the Supreme Court on the dignity of marriage and two American leaders on the dignity of work.
Political and religious leaders from former President Ronald Reagan to civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have spoken about the dignity of work. Their words are important as Congress considers ending employment discrimination against LGBT workers by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
From his 1980 presidential acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Reagan said, “Work and family are at the center of our lives, the foundation of our dignity as a free people.” Every member of Congress should consider Reagan’s fundamental wisdom and fairness for all American workers and families.
Employment was a key element of Dr. King’s civil rights campaigns across the country and his historic 1963 march on Washington for jobs and freedom. In March 1968, Dr. King said, “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” Workplace equality will certainly motivate workers to greater productivity, career satisfaction, and greater success for themselves, their families, and employers.
Both President Reagan and Dr. King understood Washington and the courts had important roles to play in equality, freedom, and employment. Associate Justice Kennedy was appointed to the Supreme Court by Reagan and his emphasis on dignity reflects his understanding of the legacies of Reagan and Dr. King.
Thus, it is in America that labor and marriage strengthen individuals, families, and our fundamental American values of fairness and dignity. Same-sex families now have national protections against efforts to deny them their Constitutional rights to marry the person of their choice.
The battle for dignity and pride for LGBT relationships began at the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, when police harassment produced riots. The Stonewall Riots birthed LGBT Pride and the long walk to the dignity of our relationships GOP Justice Kennedy vocalized for the world on June 26, 2015.
The late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican, once called me a “pervert” in the Congressional Record, on July 19, 1994, for promoting workplace fairness for LGBT workers in the federal sector. Helms never offered any dignity to gays and lesbians, only crude redneck insults and heartless laughter at gay men, sick with AIDS, and “militant” lesbians. Helms voted to confirm Kennedy to the Supreme Court. What a perverse chapter in the legacy of the bigot Jesse Helms.
What remains now for Congress is the important and dignified work of passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which has lingered in perpetual debate in Congress for over 20 years thanks to Helms and his followers.
Helms’ body lies in his Tar Heel state but his ugliness, bias, and hate toward innocent and hardworking LGBT people haunts the halls of Congress. The place should be fumigated with dignity to remove all the taint Helms bequeathed the institution and his followers.
Former President Reagan and Dr. King were giants for vocalizing the dignity of work. Helms was an evil, narrow-minded bigot. For members of Congress who want to honor the dignified spirits of Reagan and Dr. King, they should find a way to extend workplace equality, fairness, and dignity to all Americans without regard to sexuality. They should work together to pass ENDA in 2015.
Human Rights Advocate Jim Patterson is a writer, speaker, and lifelong diplomat for dignity for all people. In a remarkable life spanning the civil rights movement to today’s human rights struggles, he stands as a voice for the voiceless. A prolific writer, he documents history’s wrongs and the struggle for dignity to provide a roadmap to a more humane future. Learn more at www.HumanRightsIssues.com
