Latinos Oppose Proposition 22 Saying It Is Anti-Family

Full-page ad in La Opinion Gives Twenty-Two Reasons to Vote No on Proposition 22
For Immediate Release: March 1, 2000

Latinos Against Proposition 22, a group of Latino civil rights advocates and members of the religious community, are placing a full-page ad on March 2 in California's largest Spanish-language newspaper, La Opinion. Proposition 22 is a ballot initiative that would ban recognition of same-sex marriages. In recent weeks, supporters of Proposition 22 have turned their attention to the Latino community in efforts to win their vote.

"Pete Knight, who is the author of Proposition 22, is the same person who distributed a racist and anti-immigrant poem about Latinos in the state legislature," said Renee Saucedo, of La Raza Centro Legal. "The poem describes immigrants as 'breeding' and "trash" and living off welfare. It is hypocritical that the Knight campaign is trying to win the Latino vote by purchasing ads on Spanish-language television. It's important that we remember that the supporters of Proposition 22 are the same people who supported Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant initiative."

"Proposition 22 only divides and undermines our families," said Lisa Maldonado, of the ACLU of Northern California. "All families need support and recognition, whether they are gay and lesbian or traditional nuclear families. Proposition 22 violates the hard-earned civil rights to members of our community."

Participants in today's news conference include Susan Leal, San Francisco City Treasurer; Susan Contreras of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC);Maria Blanco, Executive Director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF); and Irma Herrera, Executive Director of the Equal Rights Advocates (ERA).

Many Latino leaders including Dolores Huerta of the United Farm Workers, Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, and San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzalez oppose Proposition 22.