Mayors for the Freedom to Marry more than doubles with 175 Mayors from 32 states

We're six weeks into our Mayors for the Freedom to Marry campaign and we have some exciting updates to announce! Since launching our campaign last month, the number of Mayors has more than doubled from 80 to 175, representing 32 states across the country.
 
This morning, we released a video of 13 Mayors talking about why they've signed on to the coalition in support of marriage for same-sex couples. The video includes chairs Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego, and Mayor Annise Parker of Houston, in addition to co-chairs including Mayor Marilyn Strickland of Tacoma, WA; Mayor Pedro Segarra of Hartford, CT; Mayor Sam Adams of Portland, OR; Mayor Setti Warren of Newtown, MA; Mayor Jeffrey Slavin of Somerset, MD; Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco, CA; Mayor Laura Friedman of Glendale, CA; Mayor Stephen Cassidy of San Leandro, CA; Mayor John Callahan of Bethlehem, PA; and Mayor Craig Cates of Key West, FL. The compilation is the first in a series that Freedom to Marry will release of mayors talking about why marriage matters, and why they support ending marriage discrimination.
 
 
 
 
We're also excited to announce our partnership with Change.org that will give activists around the country the tools they need to urge their Mayors to join the coalition. Since the January 20 launch of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, constituents from towns and cities across the nation have been reaching out to their mayors through Freedom to Marry’s Change.org petitions, phone calls, letters and emails, social networking sites, and other organizing tools. In South Florida, the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce reached out to mayors at their annual first State of Our Community luncheon, garnering an immediate sign-on from the Mayor of Miami Beach.  In Sacramento, marriage supporters delivered hundreds of signatures to Mayor Kevin Johnson on Valentine’s Day. Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, OH signed on after hearing from more than 1,000 constituents through a grassroots campaign launched in coordination with Change.org and Equality Ohio. The effort has enlisted mayors from Georgia to Texas, Utah to Alaska, Florida to Maine.  
 
Our Founder and President Evan Wolfson celebrated the incredible growth of the Mayors coalition:
 
“America’s mayors know that loving and committed gay and lesbian couples contribute to the lives of their cities every day, and that stronger families mean stronger businesses, stronger communities, and a stronger country for all,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry. “Mayors for the Freedom to Marry has had a tremendous response from citizens and mayors from every part of the country, and by partnering with Change.org we will spur additional grassroots organizing and grow the momentum for marriage nationwide. Mayors are happy to hear from their constituents, and Freedom to Marry knows that the more conversations about ending marriage discrimination, the sooner we’ll get the job done.”
 
Has your Mayor joined Mayors for the Freedom to Marry yet? Check out the list here and if they haven't, start a petition and ask them to join the growing bipartisan chorus of Mayors nationwide who are calling for an end to the exclusion of gay and lesbian couples from marriage.