Across civil rights movements of the past, the freedom to marry has been a stepping stone on the path toward full legal equality. Of course, there are many other such stepping stones -- employment non-discrimination, full and open access to public accommodations, open military service, etc. -- but marriage has always provided a strategic opening for more and greater civil rights for marginalized groups.
We're on the verge of a perfect storm this week in New York and we need your help to push for a few key wins this week...
New York State is in the eye of the storm for a few key reasons:
- First, there is a marriage equality bill pending in the state Senate, but which is being held hostage by anti-LGBT forces that are using President Obama's own reticence to embrace marriage equality as a way to override the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers who support the freedom to marry.
- Second, President Obama is holding a giant LGBT fundraiser in New York City, but hasn't publicly stated that he favors the freedom to marry for LGBT folks...stating instead that his position on marriage equality is "evolving."
- And, third, New York City's Pride is this weekend -- in just a matter of days, hundreds of thousands of LGBT folks and allies will be in town to celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall and of our tradition of standing up for our rights.
It's time for the President to evolve already. And, here is our plan to help push for that to happen:
First, please sign the petition that Freedom To Marry has created, asking the President to "Say I Do" to marriage equality. There are over 111,000 signatures on the petition so far, and we want to keep adding signatures in order to keep adding pressure on the President. We'll take that message with us as we stand outside the President's fundraiser on Thursday (more below):
Second, help us to put more pressure on the President by following us on Twitter at @GetEQUAL. We'll be launching a Twitter campaign shortly in order to keep the pressure on and make it clear to the White House that anything less than full support for marriage equality is unacceptable. And we're joining with AMERICAblog Gay to push the President to #evolvealready over the next few days.
Third, we'll be in New York City on Thursday at the President's fundraiser and we hope you'll either join us yourself or ask your friends to join us there. You can find information on the rally at:
We hope that, through this public pressure, we'll be able to move the President to understand that he's falling behind the majority of Americans who see marriage equality as a key civil right for LGBT Americans. Through this pressure, we hope that President Obama, before cashing those checks, will think twice about how he can help make the lives of those check writers better with just two words:
"I do."
Of course, marriage isn't the only vital piece of legislation moving through the New York legislature right now. GENDA (Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act) passed the Assembly, but is stuck in the Senate. We encourage you to exercise your voice by making calls and adding feedback to the whip count over at Act On Principles: http://www.actonprinciples.
Get Out! Get Active! GetEQUAL!
Robin McGehee, Director
