Valentine’s Day: More than Flowers

Posted by Michael Crawford on Feb 14, 2011 at 04:15 pm

How the holiday is a reminder of why marriage matters.

Read More »

Freedom to Marry’s Sean Eldridge Talks about Moving Forward

Posted by support on Feb 09, 2011 at 04:06 pm

Listen to a radio interview with Sean Eldridge, Political Director of Freedom to Marry.

Read More »

Why Marriage Matters: Let’s Start the Conversation

Posted by Thalia Zepatos on Feb 09, 2011 at 08:30 am

Thalia Zepatos, Freedom to Marry's Director of Public Engagement, explains Why Marriage Matters, our groundbreaking new public educational campaign that cuts to the heart of why marriage matters to gay families.

Read More »

What We Can Learn from Illinois

Posted by Evan Wolfson on Feb 03, 2011 at 07:00 am

Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson explains that while the new Illinois civil union law is a step forward, only marriage provides the full measure of respect, clarity, security, responsibilities, and protection same-sex couples and their families need.

Read More »

Radio: Rosie O’Donnell on Evan Wolfson and the freedom to marry

Posted by Andy Eddins on Nov 09, 2010 at 10:00 am

Rosie O'Donnell called in to Michaelangelo Signorile's radio show yesterday as part of a discussion on why marriage is important for the LGBT community.

She mentioned a meeting with Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson and a personal legal experience from her past as experiences that opened her eyes to the importance of marriage equality.

Read More »

Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson looks at those polls showing Marriage Equality winning

Posted by Andy Eddins on Sep 24, 2010 at 05:30 pm

Steve Weinstein talks with Evan Wolfson about the meaning in two recent polls showing support for marriage for same-sex couples continuing to rise in every state; reflecting a growing trend towards acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships.

Read More »

Listen: Evan Wolfson and David French debate the freedom to marry on Michael Medved radio show

Posted by Andy Eddins on May 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Freedom to Marry Executive Director, Evan Wolfson, and David French of the Alliance Defense Fund debated issues surrounding the freedom to marry on Thursday, May 20th on the Michael Medved radio show.

Read More »

Evan Wolfson’s Oregon Appearances

Posted by support on Nov 11, 2009 at 01:59 pm

Freedom to Marry
November 11, 2009
As noted in our blog last week, Freedom to Marry's Executive Director, Evan Wolfson, made a number of appearances in Oregon last week as part of Basic Rights Oregon's drive to put an initiative on the Oregon ballot as early as 2012 to lift the constitutional ban on marriage equality that was passed in 2004. At personal appearances in Portland, Bend and Eugene, as well as on various local radio and television shows, Mr. Wolfson made the case for Why Marriage Matters, and why it's so important for LGBT people to have conversations and share their stories.

A list of links to local coverage of Mr. Wolfson's appearances:

PRINT: NEWS
The Oregonian (Graves)
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/group_launches_drive_for_same-.html
The Portland Mercury http://m.portlandmercury.com/portland/ArticleArchives?tag=Basic%20Rights%20Oregon

PRINT: EDITORIALS
The Source Weekly http://www.tsweekly.com/opinion/guest-commentary/the-truth-about-marriage-civil-rights-expertto-take-on-marriage-equality-in-bend.html
The Oregonian Editorial Board http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/11/a_big_leap_forward_in_the_stat.html

PRINT: BLOGS
The Oregonian (Mapes) http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2009/11/gay_marriage_advocates_look_to.html
Just Out http://blogout.justout.com/?p=11868
Loaded Orygun blog http://loadedorygun.net/tag/Evan%20Wolfson
Eugene Weekly http://blogs.eugeneweekly.com/node/1279
The Oregonian (Griffin) http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/anna_griffin/index.ssf/2009/11/maine_vote_on_gay_ marriage_inf.html

TELEVISION:




OTHER
KDRV (ABC – Medford) http://kdrv.com/page/147617
KOMO (ABC – Seattle) http://www.komonews.com/news/local/68807232.html

Read More »

Oregon Group Launches Drive for the Freedom to Marry

Posted by support on Nov 02, 2009 at 11:39 am

The Oregonian
November 2, 2009
Basic Rights Oregon, which plans to put an initiative on the 2012 ballot that would lift Oregon's ban on marriage equality, will hold rallies Monday night in Portland, Tuesday night in Bend and Wednesday evening in Eugene. Evan Wolfson, founder and executive director of Freedom to Marry, will speak at all of the Basic Rights kick-off events: "[Marriage] is one of the most important statements we make about who we are,” he said. “It is so important to commitment and love that most people wear the symbol of it on their hands.” [Link]

Get more information on Oregon events here.

Read More »

Guest Op-Ed: Evan Wolfson - Why Marriage Matters

Posted by support on Oct 30, 2009 at 11:30 pm

BlueOregon
October 30, 2009
Join Evan Wolfson and Basic Rights Oregon in kicking off this important dialogue in three locations next week:

Monday night 11/2: Due to a fire at SEIU HQ, the event has been moved to Portland State's Smith Center in the Vanport Room, #338
Tuesday night 11/3: Bend, Oregon at Old Stone Church, 157 NW Franklin Ave, at 7 p.m. -- and if
Wednesday night 11/4: Eugene, Oregon at the Public Library, 100 W 10th Ave, at 6 p.m. More event details here. And join the dialogue at MarriageMattersOregon.org.

Christopher and Patrick, an Oregon couple, registered for a domestic partnership so they would be protected in the event of a crisis. But earlier this year, when Christopher was gravely ill in the hospital, Patrick was told that he couldn’t be at his partner’s bedside. Why? Because they were not married. The hospital staff said Patrick was not considered “family.”

One of the reasons partnership laws like Oregon’s aren’t good enough is that they pointedly – and pointlessly – withhold one of the main protections that comes with marriage: being married.

Marriage matters. When you say those simple words – “We’re married” – there’s no doubt what it signifies. It says “we’re family” in a way that no other word can. It’s a universally understood expression of love, commitment, and the heartfelt desire to take responsibility for the ones we love. Marriage is a building block for strong families and strong communities and, for most of us, a personal commitment so important and defining that we wear its symbol on our hand.

This is the common-ground starting point from which Oregonians can begin a meaningful conversation about why marriage matters to all couples in loving long-term relationships – including Oregon’s caring, committed gay and lesbian couples.

I’ve been all around the country and talked to thousands of gay and lesbian Americans and their families. I’ve seen gay couples raising great kids, struggling to make ends meet, worrying about their aging parents, and caring for one another in sickness and in health. They share everyone’s hopes and dreams, including the dream of a legal commitment to match the personal commitment they live out day-to-day, doing the work of marriage with the person they love.

Denied the freedom to marry, these families are denied the safety net marriage brings, touching every area of life from birth to death, with taxes in between. Yet legal protection isn’t the only concern; there is also the question of fairness. At its heart, the conversation about why marriage matters is as basic as the golden rule: Treat others as we would want to be treated.

Fairness and respect for each other are basic American and Oregon values. We honor these values when we ensure that all our neighbors have the opportunity to create a family with the love, commitment and protection that the freedom to marry offers. In America, we simply don’t make one set of rules for some, and another set for others.

These values of family, freedom, and fairness are why we need to start a conversation in Oregon – now, today – with our families, friends and neighbors, about why Oregon’s exclusion of committed couples from marriage must end.

This upcoming week, I am joining with Basic Rights Oregon to launch a grassroots effort to get Oregonians talking to each other about extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. The more we talk with the people around us – each of us the most effective ambassador to those in our lives – the more we help them think through how they’d feel if they were denied the freedom to marry the one they love, and how unnecessary this harmful exclusion is. Each one of us can, and should, engage people in conversation about why marriage matters. After all, there is no marriage without engagement.

Evan Wolfson is founder and executive director of Freedom to Marry, and author of "Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry." [Link]

Read More »

 <  1 2 3 >