'These amendments protect no one but instead discriminate against millions of American families,'
said HRC President Cheryl Jacques.

WASHINGTON, Human Rights Campaign President Cheryl Jacques made the following statement today regarding results of votes on constitutional amendments in 11 states that deny marriage to same-sex couples, as well as civil unions and domestic partnership rights in some states.

"These amendments protect no one but instead discriminate against millions of American families. These amendments were put on the ballot to divide people during the heat of the campaign. We need a thoughtful conversation about ensuring that every family has the same rights and responsibilities. Fair- minded Americans know that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are their friends, their families, their co-workers and we deserve equal protection under law.

"The closest margin on the amendments was in Oregon where thousands of same-sex couples there are married. These families -- like millions of other Americans -- educated their neighbors, families, friends and co-workers about the importance of fairness.

"These key conversations happened across the nation and helped us secure an extremely important victory in Cincinnati, Ohio, beating back a mean- spirited and discriminatory law on the books. The voters there repealed a law that banned the city from enacting non-discrimination laws for gay, lesbian and bisexual citizens. We are proud of that victory and we are proud of all of the GLBT Americans who had those long and difficult conversations that brought more and more straight Americans to the frontlines of the battle for equality.