Yes on 8 people going door to door
We just learned that Ron Prentice and his group, Protect Marriage, will be focusing their efforts in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and the Central Valley.
They’ll be going door to door in the same areas where EQCA is already working with volunteers, only they will be spreading lies about how marriage needs to be protected from same-sex couples.
They know our strategy of going door to door is effective, so they are ramping up their fundraising efforts and targeting the same areas.
Make a donation before midnight Saturday so we can match them dollar for dollar.
Don’t be fooled—the other side won’t stop with stripping us of the freedom to marry. Their aim is to reverse every law that protects the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They’re already flooding the governor’s office with calls opposing our Harvey Milk Day bill and our Marriage Recognition and Family Protection Act, a bill that would ensure that California recognizes couples who were married out of state.
We are close to the halfway mark of our $500,000 goal. Help us raise $25,000 by midnight Saturday. Your donation will fund our efforts on the ground in a range of communities, talking with people about their stance on marriage.
As I said before, I know we can restore the freedom to marry if we can reach enough people with the stories of how our families are affected and the hurt of being denied a simple right. We need your support today to make it happen.
In solidarity,
Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/yes-on-8-peop…
Congressional Race in California Draws a High-Profile Cast
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — With competitive races in Congress a rarity in California, the unexpected availability of a seat here has set off a sudden and furious chase, with at least a dozen candidates and a mélange of political styles and personal storylines.
California’s 10th Congressional District, a sprawling inkblot made up of a collection of suburbs east of San Francisco, has been represented since 1997 by Ellen O. Tauscher, a Democrat who resigned after being confirmed on June 25 to a top post in the State Department.
The field to succeed her includes the lieutenant governor, two state lawmakers, a decorated Iraqi war veteran who is openly gay and a former newspaper reporter. And that does not even include the Republican candidates in this Democratic-leaning district.
The crush of hopefuls, said Henry Brady, a professor and dean of the public policy school at University of California, Berkeley, might stem in part from the diversity of the district, which extends from the liberal Bay Area to more conservative territory inland.
“These seats don’t come available very much, and the reason is very simple: geography,” Dr. Brady said. “The Democrats are primarily on the coast, and the Republicans are in the Central Valley and the mountains, so it’s very hard to build a competitive district. But this has the potential to be one.”
The lieutenant governor, John Garamendi, is considered the early favorite to replace Ms. Tauscher. Mr. Garamendi, a Democrat who had considered running for governor next year, said he opted instead for Congress in large part because of the abbreviated campaign. A primary, followed by a special election, to complete Ms. Tauscher’s term must be held within 126 days of the governor setting the date. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation Friday declaring Nov. 3 the date for the special election.
“I thought, How am I going to spend two valuable years of my life?” said Mr. Garamendi, 64, who previously served as the deputy secretary of interior in the Clinton administration as well as the California’s first elected insurance commissioner. “Am I going spend two years dialing for dollars, or am I going to spend four months out ringing doorbells and campaigning person to person and the other 20 months working on issues?”
Mr. Garamendi’s principal challengers among the Democrats, some polls show, are State Senator Mark James DeSaulnier and Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan. Both were elected to their current posts last fall.
Mr. DeSaulnier, 57, is a former mayor, city councilman and assemblyman, who says his career comes in spite a devastating personal experience with politics: a scandal involving his father, Judge Edward J. DeSaulnier Jr., who was removed from the bench of the Massachusetts Superior Court and disbarred in 1972 after being accused of rigging a sentence for the Mafia. The older Mr. DeSaulnier was never charged with a crime but was disgraced nonetheless and committed suicide in 1989.
“I’ve been very affected by my father’s journey,” said Mr. DeSaulnier, who worked as a restaurateur before running for office. “And I’ve loved my public life.”
The rest of the Democratic field is not as well known, though one candidate has attracted some national attention: Anthony Woods, a 28-year-old graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of the Iraq war who was awarded the Bronze Star for two tours of duty. Shortly after his return from combat, while at Harvard working toward his master’s degree, Captain Woods told military superiors that he is gay, resulting in an honorable discharge.
While considered a long shot for the Congressional seat, Mr. Woods would be the first openly gay black man in Congress, though he has been careful on the campaign trail to trumpet more than his sexuality.
“The first thing I talk to voters about is their priorities, universal health care and economic security,” he said. “I’m not hiding who I am, but they’re just as interested in talking about the issues as I am.”
See Congressional Race in California Draws a High-Profile Cast
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Thousands rally in California’s heartland in support of gay marriage
Reporting from Fresno — Aiming to reach out to conservative voters, about 3,000 gay-rights supporters gathered Saturday in California’s Central Valley in a renewed campaign to win support for same-sex marriage.
Just days after the California Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages, activists launched a 14 1/2 -mile march from the town of Selma to Fresno, where they rallied in front of City Hall as a peaceful campaign-styled event to win back marriage rights.
See Thousands rally in California’s heartland in support of gay marriage Los Angeles Times
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Thousands attend Fresno rally supporting gay marriage
With lively chants and rainbow flags, several thousand people rallied in Fresno today, aiming to persuade California’s conservative heartland to support same-sex marriage rights.
Just days after the California Supreme Court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage approved by voters in November, activists launched the rally with a 14.5-mile march from Selma to Fresno in the Central Valley.
Hundreds participated in the march. Seeking to link the march with the 1960s civil rights movement centered in places like Selma, Ala., organizers said it was “a symbolic sign of respect for the social movements before us.”
The march ended at Fresno City Hall with the larger rally and drew support from such celebrities as Charlize Theron and Eric McCormack. McCormack, a heterosexual actor who played a gay lawyer in the TV sitcom “Will & Grace,” said he joined the march as a symbol of gay rights to middle America.
“We are the gays they accepted,” he said, referring to middle America TV viewers.
See Thousands attend Fresno rally supporting gay marriage
Hundreds march for gay marriage in central Calif. The Associated Press
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March For Gay Marriage In Fresno Hundreds of same-sex couples gather in the state’s conservative center.
Hundreds of same-sex couples and their supporters marched Saturday through dusty California farm towns, gathering in the state’s conservative center to push for gay marriage in less hospitable areas. Just days after the state’s highest court upheld a ban on gay marriage, advocates vowed to win the hearts and minds of those who reject their unions. They are pledging to put a new initiative before voters to overturn the ban, perhaps as soon as next year. The weekend-long event has attracted the movement’s most well-known activists and celebrities including Charlize Theron and Eric McCormack. It was organized by a lesbian mother in Fresno who was removed from the parent-teacher association at her son’s Roman Catholic school after she spoke out against banning gay marriage. “Fresno represents middle America values, and we can start changing our neighbors’ feelings about gay marriage beginning right here in the Central Valley,” said lead organizer Robin McGehee, a 36-year-old college professor who married her longtime partner last year. “We’re doing exactly what the freedom riders would do in the South in the 1960s, which is reaching into communities that are different from us so we can all live in equality.” Gay activists believe their campaign against Proposition 8 focused too much on liberal urban enclaves along the coast, failing even to reach out to the state’s rural regions. The measure passed with nearly 69 percent of the vote in Fresno County, compared to 52 percent statewide.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/march-for-gay…
Statewide Action: On Heels of Prop 8 Ruling, “Meet in the Middle for Equality” Rallies ,Civil Rights Advocates in Fresno for LGBT Equality on a Federal Level
WHEN:
Saturday, May 30, 2009, 1st Statewide Action After the Proposition 8 Decision
7:50 a.m. – Equality March Kickoff; 8:00 a.m. - March from Selma to Fresno
1:00 p.m. – Rally at steps of Fresno City Hall
WHERE:
March from the intersection of W. Front St. and Whitson St. in Selma, CA, then along the Golden State Highway to the Meet in the Middle rally location at Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, CA 93721
WHO:
Equality March speakers at Selma Kick-off include:
Anne-Marie Williams of Jordan/Rustin Coalition
Nii-Quartelai Quartey of Courage Campaign
Yardenna Aaron of Here to Stay Coalition
Andrea Shorter of Equality California (EQCA)
Roland Palencia of HONOR PAC (English/Spanish-language)
Rally Speakers at Fresno City Hall Location include:
Robin Tyler, the original plaintiff in Tyler vs. the County of Los Angeles
Angelica Salas, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Molly McKay, Marriage Equality USA
Christine Chavez, Latino and African-American Leadership Alliance and Granddaughter of Cesar Chavez
Kate Kendell, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Rabbi Denise Eger, Congregation Kol Ami & California Faith for Equality
Father Geoff Farrow, Former Catholic Priest for Fresno’s Saint Paul Newman Center
Lt. Dan Choi, West Point graduate, recently discharged under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Reverend Eric Lee, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Reverend Dr. Amos Brown, Third Baptist Church, San Francisco
Rick Jacobs, Chair and Founder of the Courage Campaign
Cleve Jones, founder of Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Harvey Milk intern
Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award Winning Screenwriter for Milk
“With this ruling, Californians are experiencing a great loss – a loss of justice, loss of compassion, and a loss of humanity. But rather than become disabled by our grief, we must shift our shame to strength and revitalize for the sake of the entire American LGBT community. We must use this ruling as a catalyst for an even greater goal and a greater good,” said Robin McGehee, lead organizer for Meet in the Middle.
Over 100 organizations from around the state have endorsed Meet in the Middle for Equality. The Courage Campaign and White Knot for Equality are providing buses to bring activists and progressive allies from San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco to the middle of California. Additional active participants include the California Nurses Association, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Equality Action NOW, Equality California (EQCA), Equal Roots, Freedom Action Inclusive Rights (F.A.I.R.), Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Network, HONOR PAC, Jordan/Rustin Coalition, Marriage Equality USA, Martin Luther King Legacy Association, NAACP Youth and College Division, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, and the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/statewide-act…
Equality California Launches Historic Win Marriage Back: Make it Real! Campaign
Grassroots mobilization and statewide ad buy announced
Los Angeles –Equality California (EQCA) today is launching the largest grassroots mobilization campaign of its kind in state history: Win Marriage Back: Make it Real! The new campaign features TV commercials, faith outreach, on-the-ground organizers, door-to-door canvassing and online activism. Over the next 100 days, the campaign will reach more than 300,000 Californians in person and millions online and over the airwaves.
“This is exactly the kind of person-to-person, peer-to-peer outreach we need to be doing to change minds and win support for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom.
EQCA is a plaintiff in the current legal challenge against Prop. 8. The Court is scheduled to issue its ruling between now and June 3rd.
“While we remain hopeful that the court could invalidate Prop. 8, we cannot wait another day to take action. We are launching the most extensive campaign of its kind to talk openly and honestly with Californians on their front porches, online and over the airwaves in order to achieve full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members,” said EQCA Marriage Director Marc Solomon.
As part of today’s launch, EQCA released the first two in a series of television ads that feature same-sex couples and Californians hurt by the marriage ban. The first ads are scheduled to air statewide starting Monday.
Over the next hundred days, volunteer canvassers will knock on 40,000 doors in targeted communities as well as enlist 100,000 activists to serve as Equality Ambassadors, who will pledge to have conversations about marriage with at least 300,000 California residents.
To help meet the campaign’s ambitious goals, EQCA is currently hiring and placing 25 full-time field organizers throughout the state, including the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, San Diego, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Six organizers have already been hired.
“This campaign is for every person in every community in every part of our state, and it will empower our diverse community and allies to win marriage back together,” said Andrea Shorter, EQCA coalition coordinator. “We will also enlist 1,000 clergy in the next 100 days to help spread the word that marriage equality is a spiritual value as well as a civil right.”
EQCA will also organize major outreach events with faith, grassroots and community leaders as part of the campaign specifically working with African American and Latino communities.
To view the television ads, click here: www.eqca.org/realstories
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/equality-cali…
Equality California Expands Marriage Fight, hire leaders to strengthen work in communities of color, faith and to ensure the freedom to marry for same-sex couples
SAN FRANCISCO – Equality California is bringing two leaders on board to expand EQCA’s efforts to achieve full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Marc Solomon will lead EQCA’s efforts to restore and keep the right to marry and increase public support and acceptance of LGBT families as its marriage director. Solomon led the fight to protect marriage equality in Massachusetts as the executive director of MassEquality.
Andrea Shorter will serve as coalition coordinator to strengthen and expand statewide coalition building efforts and to help bring resources and support to LGBT organizations, especially those who concentrate on issues impacting communities of color and faith. Shorter is co-founder and director of And Marriage For All, a public-education campaign that engages communities of color in dialogue about the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
“We are thrilled to have such extraordinary, accomplished leaders join our team as we continue our efforts to achieve full equality for LGBT people and to keep doing the long-term work of changing hearts and minds,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California.
Solomon has worked full-time on efforts to protect marriage equality since February, 2004, just after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the Massachusetts Constitution guaranteed the right of same-sex couples to marry.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/equality-cali…
We can’t wait on California’s Supremes to start working for gay marriage
We have a choice.
Do we wait and hope the California Supreme Court overturns Prop 8?
Or do we do start right now and do the hard work needed in every corner of California to ensure that a majority of Californians support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples?
But how much we are able to accomplish depends on your support.
Make a donation right now to fund the groundwork for an aggressive campaign to talk to Californians in areas we lost in the last campaign.
Donate so that we can hire field organizers that will work in key areas of the state, including the Central Valley, Inland Empire, Orange County, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego.
Donate to build relationships in communities of color and faith throughout California.
Donate to support the interactive web community that brings together activists across the state.
Donate to develop the most effective messaging that will move voters.
The No on 8 campaign was faced was limited resources until the very end. We need to avoid that mistake if we are to win this time.
Win or lose in the Supreme Court, we need to be ready for what lies ahead. Will you step up now?
In solidarity,
Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California
P.S. How do you think we should move Yes on 8 voters? Share your ideas with us at mythoughts@eqca.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/we-cant-wait-…
