Major Figures from Entertainment, Sports, and Business Come Together In Urging Obama to Say, “I Do”

President Obama has spoken eloquently about his "evolving," attitudes on marriage and same-sex couples. Today, Freedom to Marry is joining with Hollywood celebrities, high tech executives, NFL stars, and Civil Rights leaders on a new campaign to help move President Obama from "evolving" to supportive.

The campaign called Say, "I Do" Mr. President, kicks off with an open letter signed by celebrities including Ellen and Portia DeGeneres, Anne Hathaway, Jane Lynch, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Civil Rights icons Julian Bond and Helen Fabela Chavez, and NFL stars Brendon Ayanbadejo and Scott Fujita.

Here’s an excerpt from the letter:

Mr. President, marriage matters. In law, in love, in life, marriage says "we are family" in a way that nothing else does. Marriage is the coming together of two lives, marked by a public promise of love and responsibility in front of friends and family. And marriage brings not only public respect and personal significance, but also a safety net of legal protections, rights, and responsibilities for which there is no substitute.

Read the full list of celebrity signers.

We are asking the public to co-sign the letter which will be presented to the White House in the spring. Add your voice by co-signing the letter here.

"I have friends, I have people who work for me, who are in powerful, strong, long-lasting gay or lesbian unions. And they are extraordinary people," the President said just a few months ago. Throughout the campaign will be highlighting the personal stories of gay and lesbian families through various forms of media to show the president the diversity of gay families and how they are hurt by federal marriage discrimination in the form of he so-called "Defense of Marriage Act."

The president made a powerful step forward in instructing his Department of Justice to cease defending DOMA in court. Now, we are calling on the president to join the growing majority of Americans who support ending marriage discrimination.  Sign the letter to the president and ask him to say, "I do" to the freedom to marry.

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/page/s/i_do