DECISION No. 2016-1 March 7, 2016

WHEREAS, since time immemorial, Freemasonry has been an institution espousing the greatest of Enlightenment values; and WHEREAS, among these values, has been the principle that a society comprised of men with different temperaments, talents, and convictions is stronger than one composed of men with identical ones; and WHEREAS, Freemasonry regards the whole human race as one family, acknowledging the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man; and that no man’s religion or politics takes precedence over another’s; and WHEREAS, actions taken by the Grand Lodge of Tennessee have permitted sexual orientation to become a criterion for membership in good standing; and WHEREAS, the concept of prohibiting membership, or expelling brothers, on the basis of sexual orientation or for possessing certain immutable traits unrelated to the independent moral character of an individual is incompatible with our precepts; and WHEREAS, at the heart of Freemasonry, the Lodge is meant to be a safe haven where men of various backgrounds are able to meet on the level for the purpose of self-improvement in an atmosphere of brotherly fellowship; and WHEREAS, the integrity of the Lodge and our precepts are corrupted whenever certain men are unlawfully excluded from our society on the basis of immutable traits or sexual orientation; and WHEREAS, the Grand Lodge of Tennessee explicitly and knowingly violated the foregoing principles. NOW THEREFORE BE IT KNOWN, that the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia hereby SUSPENDS fraternal relations with the Grand Lodge of Tennessee and that no official deputation of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee or its constituent Lodges shall be received by any Masonic body meeting in the District of Columbia.

Done this 7th day of March, A.D. 2016, A.L. 6016

Kenneth D. Fuller Grand Master, Free and Accepted Mason District of Columbia