Freedom to Marry E-Update
Issue # 11 | February 15, 2006

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Freedom to Marry Week
Freedom to Marry Week
February 12th-18th
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    Why Marriage Matters
    America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry

    FREEDOM TO MARRY
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    www.freedomtomarry.org info@freedomtomarry.org

    • A Note from Executive Director Evan Wolfson

    Dear ${token1} —

    Gay people—and our friends, families, and allies—cannot assume that just because a person loves us and is generally a good guy she or he understands how the denial of marriage harms same-sex couples, our kids, and our country. We have to specifically and explicitly reach out to others, and make the substantive case and the personal ask for support.

    Even we at Freedom to Marry recognize the need to recommit to getting the message out and engaging anew with diverse communities. To see how we are seizing the moment this Freedom to Marry Week, check out the On the Horizon section below, and learn about our Spanish Language Radio Tour featuring key non-gay Latino/a Voices of Equality. Igualdad en el matrimonio, indeed!

    The exciting new "Marriage Equality Matters" campaign, about which you can read more in the Landscape section below, illustrates that each of us can do our part together with others. Freedom to Marry is proud to be partnering with Lambda Legal, the National Black Justice Coalition, Asian Equality, and the National Latina/o Coalition for Justice in this multi-tiered public education campaign focusing on people of color who, like others, need, want, support, and are speaking out for an end to discrimination in marriage.

    With marriage equality cases pending in seven states, continuing right-wing attacks, debate and opportunities for discussion in every state, and equality within reach, Freedom to Marry Week is one more chance to engage our neighbors and fellow citizens in the personal and informational conversations they deserve — and trust that from this commitment to engagement will come understanding about why marriage matters to gay couples and their families nationwide.

    — Evan Wolfson

    Follow developments in the movement for marriage equality on our website, and in future issues of Freedom to Marry's bi-monthly E-Update.




    On the Horizon Latino/a Leaders Speak Out during Nationwide Radio Tour

    Throughout Freedom to Marry Week, Latino/a members of Freedom to Marry’s Voices of Equality will be speaking out in support of equal marriage rights in coast-to-coast radio interviews as part of a Freedom to Marry Week Spanish Language Radio Tour.

    Participants include Dolores Huerta, Christine Chavez, Rev. Carlos Aranda, Nila Marrone, and Carolina Cordero Dyer — as well as our own staffers, Lisbeth Melendez Rivera and Pedro Julio Serrano.

    “Every child has the right to grow up in a family that is honored by society; to reach their full potential; to love and share their lives with the person they choose,” said Huerta, co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO.

    [MORE...]



    Landscape
    Marriage Equality Matters

    As polling continues to show increased support for marriage equality in state after state, five national organizations have announced a new initiative to elevate representation of communities of color speaking out in support of marriage equality.

    "The Marriage Equality Matters campaign reflects the importance of showing the diversity and reality of our families and their need for marriage equality," said Samiya Bashir, Communications Director of Freedom to Marry.

    This initiative, launched in conjunction with Freedom to Marry Week, February 12-18, 2006, will feature African American, Latino/a and Asian American individuals and couples, gay and non-gay, showing their direct support for ending discrimination in marriage.

    [MORE...]



    Get Engaged!
    Sharing Our Stories

    Sharing our stories and showing our faces helps the rest of America understand why it is unfair and wrong to deny our families protections, security, and the pursuit of happiness.

    Freedom to Marry is committed to the fight for marriage equality and to getting our stories out.

    Starting this week, our website now features some of the couples and families who have shared their lives with us in our Story Center and have allowed us to tell their stories to the world.

    Submit your story to our Story Center and become next month’s Marriage Matters family!

    [MORE...]

    “Ten years ago I would have voted yes. I’ve changed in my views of what the constitution is about. I personally think the constitution should not be used for religious prejudice.”
    — Rep. Bob Ring, a 70-year-old Republican state legislator, voting against proposed anti-gay amendment in Idaho
    The Associated Press, 2/03/2006