FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2006

The Alternatives to Marriage Project (AtMP) today announces its formal opposition to Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. As an organization committed to the rights of single and unmarried people, we are deeply troubled by his prior decisions endorsing discrimination against unmarried partners.

Alito's dissenting opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey has rightly attracted much attention for his view that a wife be required to obtain the consent of her husband before having an abortion. Alito's stance on reproductive rights is part of his history of support for discrimination on the basis of marital status.

In Cai Luan Chen v. Ashcroft, an immigration case, Alito supported marital status discrimination in public policy, arguing that marriage is properly “used in so many areas of the law (income tax, welfare benefits, property, inheritance, testimonial privilege, etc.).” While supporting asylum applications of husbands of women who were forced to have abortions, Alito concluded that the Bureau of Immigration Appeals' decision to deny asylum applications to unmarried partners was rational because extending such protection to unmarried partners “would create numerous practical difficulties."

"Ending discrimination is often inconvenient for government. 'Practical difficulties' are insufficient grounds for treating people unfairly under the law," says Jennifer Gaboury, member of the board of directors of AtMP. "The question before the Senate is: Do we want the Supreme Court to take the nation backwards, or do we need the Court to acknowledge that families do not conform to one exclusive model and to uphold legislation that facilitates a variety of successful family models?"

Today, 94 million American adults are unmarried, including 11 million who live with partners. Over 31 million American children live in non-married-couple families.

Discrimination against cohabiting partners and non-traditional families runs throughout the law in areas such as taxes, wills, inheritance, insurance rates, employment benefits, adoption rules, and survivor benefits. For example, in many states, landlords may legally decide not to rent to unmarried partners—an exception to fair housing laws on religious grounds. As the number of unmarried, cohabitating partners rises, such laws are being challenged.

Furthermore, throughout the nation there is now extraordinary activity in the courts around domestic partnerships—who may register, what benefits accrue, and who has standing to challenge them. For example, Utah's 3rd District state court is hearing arguments about unmarried city employees can be designated to receive benefits, while New York's Court of Appeals is hearing arguments about whether city contractors must offer equal benefits to their unmarried employees. Meanwhile, four residents of New Rochelle, NY are suing their city in federal court to end health benefits for unmarried domestic partners of city employees.

The next Supreme Court justice will likely hear many of these issues. Given Alito's track record on marital status discrimination, AtMP urges the Senate to oppose his nomination.

The Alternatives to Marriage Project advocates for equality and fairness for unmarried people, including people who are single, those who choose not to marry, cannot marry, or live together outside of marriage. We provide support and information for this fast-growing constituency, fight discrimination on the basis of marital status, and educate the public and policymakers about relevant social and economic issues. We believe that marriage is only one of many acceptable family forms, and that society should recognize and support healthy relationships in all their diversity.

For further information, contact:
Nicky Grist, Executive Director: 718-788-1911