Freedom to Marry Day - February 12

On National Freedom to Marry Day, Thursday, February 12, 2009, at local marriage counters in cities all over the country, same-sex couples will request marriage licenses at their local County Clerk's Offices to raise awareness of the harms and impact that the inability to marry causes on their families. This national event is hosted yearly by Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) and this year they have asked Join the Impact for our help to make this their largest Marriage Counter Action yet!

"Marriage Equality USA started the Marriage Counter Action/Get Engaged for Marriage Equality in 2001. This year, we invited Join the Impact to join us, and we are very excited to be working with them and look forward to a large turnout. We do this annual direct action during Freedom to Marry week to make marriage discrimination visible, it forces our local clerks to have to look us in the eye, see our children, and enforce a discriminatory and unjust law at their counter – it moves everyone who witnesses this sad, but powerful event and gives us the opportunity to tell our stories and show that we live in every community and want to honor and protect our families like everyone else." - Jordan Palmer, Vice President of Development & Organizational Relationships for Marriage Equality USA.

Learn more about how you can be involved in Marriage Equality for All!

Upcoming Protests - Prop 8 + Marriage Equality!

I will try to keep a list here of any upcoming Marriage Equality Rallies or Prop 8 Protests. Please email me if you have something to submit or simply add it to the comments, and i'll post it for you.

The new year brings us a new energy for our fight for Marriage Equality for the LGBT community. Gays and Lesbians deserve the right to marry and have their love equally recognized. Show your support by attending one of these protests near you. Invite a friend to an upcoming Prop 8 Protest and tell them to invite a friend.

Get your Protest Poster for the Rick Warren Protest here.... Separate Church and State!

----- Sunday, January 18th -----

ORANGE COUNTY / LAKE FOREST,CA

PROTEST AT RICK WARREN'S SADDLE BACK CHURCH

11:00am - 2:00pm
Saddleback Church in Orange County 
1 Saddleback Parkway
Lake Forest, CA
More information on Facebook.

----- Monday, January 19th -----

MILLION PERSON EQUALITY MARCH

SACRAMENTO,CA
Capitol Building, Sacramento
Get your hotel reservations now. 

Sign up for teams: equalityactionnow.org

----- Saturday, January 24th -----

PIECES OF 8 - CREATIVE MARCH

EMBARCARDERO, SAN FRANCISCO
Saturday, January 24, 2009
10:30am - 1:30pm
Embarcadero
The Sidewalks along Embarcadero from Justin Hermann Plaza to Marina Green.

San Francisco, CA

What: An exhibition of performing arts in conjunction with the BACORR protest against the anti-choice and anti-marriage march along the Embarcadero from Justin Herman Plaza to Marina Green. Artists will perform on the theme of oppression of women or the attempts by religious organizations to impose their “values” on our laws, especially on abortion and same-sex marriage.
Who: acoustic musicians, poets, comics, clowns, mimes, performance artists, painters, rappers, actors, sculptors and anyone who wishes to artistically express their support for equal rights for all.

When the Catholic Church sends their Crusade to San Francisco to try to eliminate a woman’s right to choose and our freedom to marry the partner of our choice we are going to greet them with an outburst of creativity! Instead of insults, we will hurl artistic performances at them. We will captivate the spectators and tourists, and, of course, the media, so the message of equal rights will dominate the day.

----- Thursday, Feb 12th -----

NATIONAL FREEDOM TO MARRY DAY
Sit-in & Protest! At the Steps of your City Hall and ask for a marriage license. If you are denied a license, don't leave. Sit with your community, your allies, and friends.

Read More about FREEDOM TO MARRY DAY!

----- Saturday, February 14th -----

VALENTINE'S DAY KISS-IN

LOS ANGELES CITY HALL

2:00 pm
LA City Hall

Between 1st and Temple on Spring (200 N Spring St.)

They took away our rights, they made us second class citizens, and now they’re trying to take away the marriages we already legally obtained. Well F that. Show them that no matter what they do to us, we are and will continuing to love.

So on the day that celebrates love, bring your protest signs and yell to your heart’s content at 2:00 pm… then at 2:30. KISS!

Not only is it fun, but we are showing them that they can try to take away and invalidate our marriage, but our relationships, families, and love will not be extinguished.

RSVP on the facebook page

----- Monday, February 16th -----

SACRAMENTO, CA
Gather together at the Capitol to demonstrate that the LGBT community and our allies will settle for nothing less than equality. Sponsored by Equality Action Now.

----- Tuesday, February 17th -----

SACRAMENTO, CA
Marriage Equality Lobby Day

More Info to Come

----- PAST PROTESTS -----

----- Saturday, January 10th -----

NATIONAL PROTEST OF DOMA

This is a National Protest with rallies taking place all over the country. We are also collecting 1 Million Signatures in an Open Letter to Obama to be delivered on Inauguration Day. Join the DOMA Protest. Learn more about DOMA.

> Find a DOMA Protest near you.

> Print out the Open Letter to Obama and Signature Sheets.

DOMA Protests include: Washington DC, San Diego, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Jose, Redlands and More Protest Cities Here.

BLUE 4 EQUALITY

Light up your night with BLUE! Put a blue bulb in your window, on your porch light, or store front to show support for Equality. Read more at Blue 4 Equality.

----- Saturday, January 3rd -----

CHINO HILLS, CA
2pm-6pm

The Shoppes at Chino Hills

13920 City Center Drive, Chino Hills
We will meet at the corner of Grand Avenue and Peyton Drive.

----- Thusday, January 1st -----

"IN YOUR FACE" NATIONAL KISS-IN

Nationwide Protest Day, Thursday 01/01/09
A public kiss-in in support of same-sex marriage rights, LGBTQ rights, love and equality for all!Find a same-sex friend and kiss them publically-- at work, school, the mall, wherever-- and show the world that love is for everyone. *smooch*

----- Saturday, December 27th -----
LAKE FOREST, CA
From: 1pm-6pm Trabuco Rd & Lake Forest Dr, Lake Forest
Hesperia/Victorville/Apple Valley, CA
2pm, 14868 Bear Valley Road, Victorville
From Rancho Cucamonga, travel on the 15 North (approx. 25 minutes) exit Bear Valley Rd and turn Right. Once you pass Mariposa Rd, we will be meeting on the Left side of Bear Valley Rd.

DISCRIMINATION! Protest DOMA today!

Join me and many others across the nation in the National Protest of DOMA! If you are in San Francisco, we will be on the corner of Castro and Market TODAY, January 10th, at 11am.

Download this protest poster for your rally! Stop H8 and DISCRIMINATION in America! 

Don't Wait, Start Now! Protest DOMA.

Protest DOMA this weekend, January 10th! Don't wait, START NOW... You can begin gathering signatures in support of the repeal of DOMA. Find 10 ways you can help below. As you know, you can always get FREE PROTEST POSTERS here, to 

From Join the Impact:

A little under 1 year ago when Barack Obama was running for president he wrote an Open Letter to our community. A community where many members do not have equal protections under the law. A minority community that has felt the sting of discrimination, and held on to love to build bridges in the hope of overcoming.

The opening to this letter still chokes me up today: "I'm running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all ‐ a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It's wrong to have millions of Americans living as second‐class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans."

In this letter, Barack Obama promised to repeal laws that discriminate against the LGBT community. He vowed to

Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ensure that states treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws
Enact a fully inclusive Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Enact the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes against our community
Confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the stigma surrounding it
Amend the Uniting American Families Act to afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system

A letter was crafted in response to Obama to remind him of his promises that we expect him to keep. This is not an online petition. Studies have shown that they are far less effective than the obvious blood sweat and tears that went in to physical signatures. Imagine Barack Obama sitting in the Oval Office with One Million of our voices in his hands. We need Real People, Real Signatures, Real Change.

Signature gathering has already begun.

Here's 10 ways you can help get signatures:

1. Gather signatures at your place of work (make sure it doesn't hinder your HR policy)
2. Go out to the bars on Friday and Saturday nights and get signatures
3. Go to your local screening of MILK and get signatures from individuals in line or as they are leaving
4. Go to local stores and ask that they put the signature pages at the counter
5. Grab a friend and canvas your neighborhood asking for signatures
6. Go to a local event to gain signatures (Art Walks, Concerts, etc)
7. Take a copy to class and ask your teacher if you can announce that you're gathering signatures.
8. Attend one of the National Rallies on January 10th to gain signatures (find your rally here)
9. Go to church on Sunday and ask for signatures
10. Use the power of the internet: Email this letter, Blog about it, ping all your friends on Facebook/MySpace, send this message to EVERYONE

As always, when on private property be sure to ask for permission.

JOIN THE IMPACT ON THE WHITE HOUSE:
Print the Open Letter
Print Signature pages

Mail all signature pages by January 12th to:

Join The Impact
PO Box 141491
Columbus, OH 43214

DOMA is America's Prop 8

[  click to enlarge  ]

DOMA - AMERICA'S PROP 8

Stand up for Marriage Equality for all this weekend! Join the NATIONAL PROTEST OF DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). DOMA deprives Gays and Lesbians of having their marriage recognized under federal law.

Defend Love, Destroy DOMA!

[  click to enlarge  ]

Defend Love, Destroty DOMA!

Use this Protest DOMA Poster! Join the nation on January 1oth, for the NATIONAL PROTEST OF DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act).

Obama Don't DOMA!

We are coming together as a community asking the supporters of the LGBT community and marriage equality to help us repeal DOMA. We need to gather 1 million signatures to deliver to on an Open Letter to President Barak Obama his first day in office. We want him to know that we will not wait for equality! NATIONAL PROTEST of DOMA on January 10th!

[  Download the Protest Poster: OBAMA DON'T DOMA  ]

[ click to enlarge + download ]

Open Letter to Barak Obama - 1 MILLION Signatures Needed!

In protest of DOMA (Defense of Marraige Act), we are coming together as a community asking the supporters of the LGBT community and marriage equality to help us gather 1 million signatures to deliver to President Barak Obama his first day in office. We want him to know that we will not wait for equality!

We need you to help. It's easy and every signature represents a supporter helping us get closer to our goal. Reach out to the largest group of people you know that support you and your right for Marriage Equality and for your love to be recognized equally under the law. Think of all the people you know - friends, family, co-workers, church members, neighbors, business owners - and ask them to support YOU.

Step 1:  READ the Open Letter to Obama
Step 2:  PRINT out the Letter and Signature Pages
Step 3:  COLLECT signatures from people who support you

Step 4:  MAIL your pages in by January 12, 2009.

OPEN LETTER TO OBAMA
> Print the Open Letter to Obama and Signature Forms

January 21, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations on your historic and inspiring victory. Your lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens, along with families, friends, and heterosexual allies, would like to welcome you to the White House. We are thrilled to see that true change has come to this country.

During your election campaign you wrote an open letter to us, making it clear that you were committed to gaining ‘full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country.’ In that letter you asked for our vote and promised to:

• Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ensure that states treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws

• Enact a fully inclusive Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

• Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

• Enact the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes against our community

• Confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the stigma surrounding it

• Amend the Uniting American Families Act to afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system 

We come to you as esteemed citizens of the United States of America in need of equal protections under the law for all families. The LGBT community is part of this diverse country, but do not share the same rights as their heterosexual brothers and sisters. In the spirit of family, respect, and of course, hope, we will work with you to make these promises become a reality.

We paid attention to the statements you made during your campaign, and we voted for you. Now, as you take office, we ask something in return. Please keep your promises to the LGBT community and provide the leadership needed to achieve true equality for all Americans.

Sincerely, Your Fellow Americans

###

Now, PRINT out the Open Letter to Obama and Signature Forms. 

Collect Signatures and Mail them in! The deadline for mailing the signature pages is January 12 for us to get them to Barack Obama on his first day in office.

MAIL SIGNATURES TO:

JOIN THE IMPACT
PO Box 141491
Columbus, OH 43214

PROTEST DOMA JANUARY 10

Join your friends and family of the LGBT Community and Protest DOMA on January 10th. We need to collect 1 Million signatures from across the country to President Obama on his Inauguration Day. We will not wait for him to act on his promises to our community.

What is DOMA? DOMA is America's Prop 8

Find out how to Protest D.O.M.A.

I'm finding out many people don't know what D.O.M.A. is. Even more disappointing is the fact that many don't even realize that it exists. 

I'm going to spell DOMA without periods from this point forward, because I just find it more visually appealing. Now, let's talk about DOMA. 

DOMA is America's Prop 8. 

DOMA is the DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT. It should have been called DOMAFH (Defense of Marriage Act for Heterosexuals).

In simplest terms it is a federal equivalent to California's notorious Proposition 8. In the same way Prop 8 discriminates against Gay Marriage in California, DOMA does the same on a national scale.

DOMA was signed into Federal law by Bill Clinton in September of 1996. The bill was passed by a majority vote by both Congress (85-14) and the House of Representatives (342-67). The bill was passed in fear that one or more states at the time would want to legalize same sex marriages. The main purpose of the bill was to ensure that same-sex marriages would not have to be recognized under the Constitution of the United States. So, if you're marriage is recognized in Connecticut, that means it doesn't have to be recognized in any other territory of the U.S.

Here are the two main clauses of DOMA:

POWERS RESERVED TO THE STATES:
`No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.'.

DEFINITION OF 'MARRIAGE' AND 'SPOUSE'
`In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word `marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word `spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.'.

PROTEST DOMA JANUARY 10

Join your friends and family of the LGBT Community and Protest DOMA on January 10th. We need to collect 1 Million signatures from across the country to President Obama on his Inauguration Day. We will not wait for him to act on his promises to our community.

Blue 4 Equality - Jan 10th

This is an easy way to show your support. You don't have to even leave your home or work... just put in a Blue Light!

Display a BLUE BULB on January 10th and show your support for Equality for All. Light up your front porch, window or store front. Just put a blue bulb in and you'll be one of thousands lighting up the night for Equality!

Tell your friends, local merchants and businesses you support, to show their support for you and your community by lighting up blue on January 1oth!

Blue4Equality is trying to organize the City Halls of eight major cities to light up blue. Miami Beach has already agreed! They are still waiting for feedback from Camarillo, Los Angeles, Oxnard, Pasadena, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Ventura.

For more information on Blue For Equality and how you can help, check out Blue4Equality.org.

January 10th is also the NATIONAL PROTEST OF DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Join thousands across the country to get 1 Million Marriage Equality Supporters to sign an Open Letter to President Obama and deliver it to him on his first day in office. We will not wait for equality!

National Protest of D.O.M.A. - January 10th

Join the Nation on January 10th and Protest Against DOMA! DOMA is the "Defense of Marriage Act". Protest for the Repeal of this Act that eliminates Marriage Equality for All.

We need to gather 1 Million Signatures on an Open Letter to Barak Obama. This will be delivered to President Obama on his first day in office. We want him to know that we will not wait for Equality. Get the Open Letter to Obama and Signature Forms.

----- SAN FRANCISCO, CA -----

RALLY 11AM
Castro & Market Streets
(NOT at City Hall!)

PETITION FOR SIGNATURES
Time: After Rally is Over
Place: Over 20 Neighborhoods in San Francisco, Oakland, Marin and North Peninsula
Join the group on Facebook.

----- SAN DIEGO, CA -----

10AM: WARM UP RALLY
11AM: MARCH
1PM: MAIN RALLY

San Diego County Admin Building
1600 Pacific Hwy
San Diego, CA

Complete details at SD Equality Now.


----- LOS ANGELES / WeHo, CA -----

2pm-10pm

RALLY @ 6pm

Corner of Santa Monica & San Vicente Boulevards

West Hollywood, CA
Contact: david.comfort@mindspring.com

Event on Facebook.

----- SAN JOSE, CA -----

Noon - 2 p.m.

San Jose City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA

More information at Join the Impact San Jose.

----- REDLANDS, CA -----

2pm 

Redlands City Hall

35 Cajon Street, Redlands, CA
We will meet near the Redlands City Hall and march toward Redlands Blvd & Orange Street.

----- WASHINGTON, D.C. -----

1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

March For Equal Rights

Washington, D.C.

Join the group on Facebook.

----- DALLAS, TEXAS -----

11:30 am

Historical Plaza behind Records Building

509 Main Street

Downtown - Dallas, Texas

Read Article on Dallas Protest 

----- BLUE 4 EQUALITY -----

Across the nation, Light up your night with BLUE! Put a blue bulb in your window, on your porch light, or store front to show support for Equality. Read more at Blue 4 Equality.

Happy New Year! Find us on Facebook

Happy New Year everyone! We have a big year ahead of us! The Protests of Prop 8 and Rallies for Marriage Equality continue across the country this month! Join us for the NATIONAL REPEAL of DOMA PROTEST on January 10th!

Also, we have launched a new FACEBOOK group. Join the Group and keep up with all my latest poster designs. There are some great ones coming soon!