For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Gerard, sgerard@americanhumanist.org, (202) 238-9088 ext. 105
(Washington, D.C., December 6, 2019)— Humanist leaders are demanding the alleged attempt by President Trump to corrode our electoral process be checked. Today, the American Humanist Association calls on Congress to proceed with the impeachment process as a necessary step to preserve the foundation of our democracy.
“As humanists, we have a moral obligation to speak out in support of truth and fairness,” says Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. In light of the Intelligence Committee’s report detailing significant misconduct on the part of the President, and the Speaker of the House’s announcement that she has asked the committee chairs to move ahead with articles of impeachment, leadership of national nontheist organizations are joining to support the Congressional efforts. Speckhardt continued, “To conduct anything less than a rigorous and transparent impeachment process and eventual trial would render our republic dangerously vulnerable and further harm Americans’ fragile trust in our democratic process.”
Other humanist leaders added their voices to this appeal for justice.
“No one should be above any law, especially those who hold public office and are supposed to represent the people,” affirmed founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, Mandisa Thomas. “The current administration reflects an institutional power imbalance, and it is my hope that this latest action is the start of dismantling that imbalance.”
“As humanists and Jews, we know from our historic experience that law does not always equal justice,” noted Paul Golin, executive director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. “However, this impeachment process is just. It seeks to uphold sound principles of electoral fairness that have stood the test of time in our country, and it has utilized impartial testimony and evidence to get at facts. To us, this is not about politics, but about justice.”
Moving forward, humanists demand that this constitutional process be accountable to the American people, bound by evidence, and free from interference and obstruction.
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The American Humanist Association (americanhumanist.org) advocates for the rights and viewpoints of humanists. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington D.C., its work is extended through more than 175 local chapters and affiliates across the United States.
Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms a responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.