Evan Wolfson Speeches
PODCAST: Freedom to Marry: The Road Ahead
(150mb .mp3)
Equality is not just a gay issue! Marriage discrimination infringes upon the civil rights and freedom of every American, gay and non-gay. Listen to Evan Wolfson discuss the freedom to marry movement in its historical context, and underscore the urgency of galvanizing the hearts and minds of Californians. CA, the first state to strike down racial discrimination in marriage, was also the first to pass a historic marriage equality bill in both houses of its legislature in 2006, before its veto by Gov. Schwarzenegger. The people's representatives in the most populous state continue to do the good work that, up until now, judges have done in other states.
VIDEO: Evan Wolfson at Google
Evan Wolfson visited the NYC Google office on May 29, 2007 to discuss his book Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.
PODCAST: Evan Wolfson addresses Kentucky Fairness Alliance, rebounding after constitutional amendment vote
Speaking in Lexington, KY, Evan urges the 700+ non-gay and gay attendees not to "let the constitutional amendment be the last word," but rather, lay out a vision for how to move forward and win marriage equality for the thousands of Kentucky same-sex couples and their kids that the "reachable middle" has only begun to get to know.
PODCAST: Why Marriage Matters: The Fight to Win the Freedom to Marry in New York and Nationwide [link?]
Evan Wolfson's September 20, 2006 lecture at the Yale Club of New York, sponsored by Yale GALA: Yale's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alumni Network. Evan analyzes the NY high court ruling refusing to end the exclusion from marriage and the movement forward in New York, and does Q&A.
PHONE SEMINAR: Evan Wolfson leads a seminar on religious messaging for marriage equality
Facilitated by Harry Knox of the Religion & Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign, Evan spoke to HRC's Progressive State Clergy Coalition partners around the country.
SPEECH: Winning Marriage Equality: The Road Ahead
Wolfson delivers the Cal Anderson Memorial Lecture at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, and calls for all of us to engage neighbors and fellow citizens in the personal and informational conversations they deserve — and trust that from that engagement will come marriage. | Download pdf | Listen to the speech.
KEYNOTE SPEECH: Evan Wolfson at the Legal Marriage Alliance
Wolfson says, "The best way to end discrimination in marriage is through marriage." Marriage is a statement and symbol of commitment and love. To be denied that statement is unequal and unfair. Wolfson discusses the upcoming court decision due before the end of the year from the Washington Supreme Court which would make WA the second state in the country to legalize marriage.
LECTURE: Evan Wolfson at Marquette University Law School
Evan Wolfson talks to the next generation of lawyers at MULS in Milwaukee, Wisconsin regarding the importance of the freedom to marry and how they can make their voices heard to encourage the non-gay people in their lives to embrace fairness and equality. Evan also addressed the dangers of the proposed anti-gay state constitutional amendment aimed at denying all family protections to gay couples and their kids in Wisconsin, and answered questions from students and faculty.
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SPEECH: Evan Wolfson addresses editorial writers at national conference
Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, Evan Wolfson addresses editorial writers in Portland, Oregon at the 2005 Annual National Convention luncheon. He discusses the importance of ending discrimination in the ongoing conversation of marriage equality, answering key questions from the writers on why marriage matters.
SPEECH: Love and Doing Something About It: A Tribute to Mary Dunlap
Throughout her career as a leading civil right attorney and professor, Mary Dunlap fought for LGBT persons, women, people of color, immigrants. and the disabled. Evan Wolfson pays tribute to the valued advocate, who passed away in January of 2003.
SPEECH: Praying with Our Feet
In accepting an honor from Kolot Chayeinu, an engaged, progressive, Jewish congregation in Brooklyn at their annual gala celebration, Praying With Our Feet, Dancing With Our Souls, Evan Wolfson galvanized the audience with a call to action.
SPEECH: The scary work of winning
Wolfson gives the Lavender Law keynote address in Minneapolis, addressing the nation's LGBT lawyers and allies, and lays out the vision of how we are winning, with strategic lessons on how to cope with defeats and, where necessary, "lose forward" to victory. Download the pdf publication of The Scary Work of Winning.
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TRANSCRIPT: Chicago discussion on marriage equality
PANEL: PAT LOGUE and EVAN WOLFSON
Where we stand in the stream of civil rights history of the marriage movement, sponsored by Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association, American Constitution Society, and Jenner & Block.
SPEECH: Annual Commencement Dinner Address
Five months before November's historic marriage ruling in Massachusetts, Evan Wolfson predicted that gay people are "within reach of winning the freedom to marry."
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Why Marriage Matters America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.
By Evan Wolfson
Read reviews! Purchase the book or receive a signed copy as a thank you for your donation!
Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.
