Date: Wed, 18 Oct 1995 00:38:42 -0400 (EDT) From: "Tina M. Wood" Subject: Open letter to Supremes > >OPEN LETTER >BY AUTHOR PATRICIA NELL WARREN TO THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES >October 8, 1995 >***************** >Patricia Nell Warren is author of The Front Runner, and a leading advocate >for the rights of queer youth. This article may be freely reprinted and >reposted. >***************** > OPEN LETTER TO THE SUPREME COURT >By Patricia Nell Warren >Author, Former Reader's Digest Editor > Dear Right Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court: > How extraordinary that I, as a citizen of the U.S., cannot directly >express my opinion to the highest court in my land, about a decision that >will directly affect not only my future civil rights, but those of all >Americans. > Any schoolchild can write a letter to the President. Any editor knows >the power of an open letter. So I hope that my note in a bottle may wash up >somewhere on your Supreme beach. > America has gotten so crowded and so ridden with issues that every major >legal decision resonates like summer thunder. The O.J. jury may have >rendered their verdict, but the trial is not "over." Racial and sexual >reverberations are now racing heavily. A huge spike in phone calls to >battered-woman hotlines shows that many American men are reading what they >believe to be the jury's message...that it is okay to beat women. More >than ever, courts of today -- juries and judges alike -- must necessary look >at the jarring echos of their decisions, and the farthest ripple of their >responsibilities. > The Colorado Amendment 2 decision is not really about the rights of >homosexuals. If each of you do not know that fact, then I tremble for the >future of America. Amendment 2 is really about the civil right standing of >any identifiable minority group of citizens. If homosexuals as a group can >be legislated against, and discriminated against, then so can any group -- >just as, conversely, the rights of almost all minority groups have been >upheld and protected by our courts up until now. > The question is whether or not the accordance of civil rights to any >minority will long survive in the U.S. > The religious extremists of America, who are driving this Amendment 2 >appeal with their money and their political machinery, are not interested in >civil rights or even human rights. I beg each of you, before you render your >decisions, to study the extremists' sermons, their talk shows, their >magazines and other media. You will see that they believe only in what they >call "God's right to expect man's obedience," and in what they view as every >person's duty to obey their God. The only "law" respected by these people >is laid down in the Bible. They are very skillful in exploiting issues of >"religious liberty" for their own political ends, and are forever complaining >about how they are deprived of "free speech". But ultimately if these >extremists gain control of due process in the U.S. , their demand for >"Bible-based law" will be a gun- barrel leveled at all of us. > As their opening wedge to diminish the power of human civil rights, these >religious masterminds have chosen to attack homosexuals. It's a smart move >- -- homosexuals are still the most despised and disenfranchised minority group >in the U.S. But make no mistake -- this is only the opening wedge. They >already are working to diminish the human rights status of women and minors, >because of "what the Bible says" about the >"duties" of women and children. Next will come the rights of other >religions that they do not like, as well as the rights of racial minorities >- -- the Bible has clear things to say about ethnicity and other religions. > Finally will come the day when the Supreme Court itself will find its door >kicked in and the long gun barrel of religion will be leveled at each of you >personally. > Each of you, Your Honors, will then be informed of your "duty to obey and >uphold the law" as laid down in the Bible. I pray that you all have >studied the Bible -- I have -- and noted that the death penalty is mandated >for dozens of "offenses," ranging from homosexuality to disrespecting your >parents to working on the Sabbath. Eight of the 10 Commandments require the >death penalty -- a startling fact that few Americans know. Thus, the >extremists' position on homosexuals is part of a vaster belief system that >aims to alter American law at every turn. In the first five books of the >Bible, It's all there, in black and white. > The problem is that most Americans do not know what the Bible really says >about law, any more than they know what the Constitution really says, because >they don't bother to read either document thoroughly, and find out for >themselves. They choose to rely on hearsay and the media for their >information. "Bible-based law" may sound wonderful and sonorous as a >concept, but the specifics are sure to send a shiver down the spine of any >concerned citizen -- as they did mine. > In a word -- unlike the O.J. jury, the Supreme Court does not face a >simple decision of whether a single man was innocent or guilty. You face a >complex landmark decision that will determine whether or not the future of >civil rights in the U.S. will be dictated by one particular religion. > I can only hope and pray that you, my Supreme Court, will decline to jar >into motion this long, long line of falling dominos of human rights. > Sincerely yours, > Patricia Nell Warren > Wildcat Press > 8306 Wilshire Blvd. Box 8306 > Beverly Hills, CA 90211 > 213/933-099