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Make your voice heard during Freedom to Marry Week

Google News Comment
February 13, 2009

Freedom to Marry Week, still ongoing, is an opportunity to get people talking about why marriage matters and the importance to you of ending the exclusion of gay couples from marriage. There's time to join in, adding your voice to the people you can best reach -- your circles, the people in your life -- making them part of Freedom to Marry’s "7 Conversations in 7 Days."

Of course, while we encourage people to have conversations this Freedom to Marry week, every day of the year is an opportunity to move hearts and minds, and we won't be done until the freedom to marry is not a week, but a reality nationwide. By sharing your personal story, engaging those who surround you, letting them experience your own personal commitment, and giving them the space to ask questions and learn about how the denial of marriage hurts families and helps no one, you are doing the indispensable work of social change for social justice.

In a Freedom to Marry Week article on The Huffington Post, "Marriage and Gays: What Would Lincoln Do?," I cite lessons from Lincoln, including that "consistent articulation of a clear moral standard over time help[s] elevate public understanding and commitment to what is right." The same thing is true in our interactions with people around us -- we owe it to them to give them the information over time that will help them rise to fairness. It's our job to break the silence and connect the dots, making the personal ask. The way to do it is through conversation, and what better time to start than Freedom to Marry week.

Three easy ways to get involved and start having conversations:

1. Become our fan on Facebook and attend the event, Freedom to Marry Week
2. Visit our website to get the latest marriage equality news
3. Read our blog, Straight Talk on Marriage, to see how voices of equality are talking about marriage