WHEREAS, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and

WHEREAS, AALL adopted, seventeen years ago, a Membership Resolution including sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policy, and

WHEREAS, AALL has a Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section (SR-SIS), which addresses issues of social change and social responsibility that are of concern to AALL members both personally and professionally, including equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, and

WHEREAS, these goals continue to be achieved through annual meeting educational programs, publications, AALL professional activity, and social opportunities, and

WHEREAS, other professional organizations such as the American Bar Association and the American Association of University Professors have enacted resolutions opposing a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Constitution has served historically to expand the scope of democratic liberty and increase the number of people entitled to claim that liberty, and

WHEREAS, constitutional amendments at the federal and state level defining marriage as only between a man and a woman intentionally discriminate against lesbians and gay men by denying them access to the protections, benefits, and responsibilities extended automatically to married couples, and

WHEREAS, a viable democracy does not depend on defining marriage solely as a heterosexual institution, and

WHEREAS, the proposed constitutional amendments appeal to Americans' prejudices and fears rather than to their higher values of equality and justice,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Association of Law Libraries strongly opposes any proposed federal and state constitutional amendments defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.