Tag Archives: Marriage

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DADT … Jim Messina, BarackObama.com

07/25/2011 Nativegrl77

President Obama and our military service chiefs certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

In 60 days, it will be done.

This is huge and welcome news for every one of us who opposes discrimination of any kind. But now, the fight for equal rights moves on.

Here’s the next front: This week the President endorsed a bill to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, a discriminatory law that forces the federal government to ignore the rights of those in same-sex marriages, even those performed in states where gay marriage is legal. The New York Times has said it “ranks with the most overtly discriminatory laws in the nation’s history.”

President Obama sees repeal as a moral and legal necessity, while the Republican candidates oppose it. But millions of people — gay and straight — are watching what they’re doing, want this law gone, and will make their voices heard.

Can you be one of them? We’re putting together the group of people who want to be at the forefront of our efforts on this issue as the campaign develops over the next 16 months — the first to know when news breaks, and the first to help spread the word to your friends and in your community. Join us for what’s next:

BARACKOBAMA.COM

Under DOMA, rights afforded to straight married couples — such as receiving Social Security benefits for spouses or filing joint federal income-tax returns — do not apply to same-sex married couples.

It’s no secret that the President has long opposed this law. In February, he directed the Justice Department to stop defending a key portion of it in court. And this week, he endorsed the first Senate bill that would repeal the law in its entirety.

We can already see the direction the other side is headed in response. They called a witness at the Senate hearings this week to testify that repealing DOMA would “pave the way for polygamous and other polyamorous unions.” That’s the type of rhetoric we should be prepared to hear in the run-up to the next election.

But the broad American consensus is on our side. We’ve all seen that change in Washington doesn’t come overnight, and fighting for it can carry significant political risks. When opportunities to make real progress come up, it’s critical to show Washington that millions of voters have President Obama’s back.

This is a defining issue for many of us in this movement, and for this President. Join this fight today:

Thanks for your help,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Democracy for America

06/27/2011 Nativegrl77

What a historic day!

I’m thrilled that today, thanks to your voice and the hard work of Governor Cuomo and so many committed organizations and elected officials, New York has become the latest state to pass marriage equality.

Last night, the New York legislature stood up for equality for all New Yorkers and spoke loudly in support of the simple proposition that every New Yorker should be able to marry the person they love.

But our work is not done.

Even once our LGBT friends and family are legally able to marry here in New York, the Defense of Marriage Act will prohibit them from enjoying over 1,000 federal rights and privileges that are afforded straight married couples. While it won’t be easy, we can overturn DOMA – but we need thousands of grassroots activists like you to stand up and demand repeal.

Click here to join me and Democracy For America in urging Congress to repeal this regressive and discriminatory law. For only once every legally married couple in the United States is treated equally under federal law can we fulfill the true meaning of marriage equality.

The Defense of Marriage Act is truly damaging. Every day, thousands of legally married LGBT men and women around the country are unable to take advantage of rights and privileges – from hospital visitation to inheritance rights to health benefits – that straight married couples take for granted.

Like DFA member Florence P. of Brushton, NY who sent in her story of how DOMA has impacted her:

My late partner and I were as close to a legal married couple as we could get in the state of New York. We were together for 32 1/2 years, hoping to one day marry in our state. She died in 2006. I am not considered to be her widow. I am not considered to be legally related to her at all even though we shared our lives completely for over 32 years. It’s time to repeal DOMA.

I agree with Florence. We must end this unjust policy. But much like the historic vote last night in New York, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and our collective grassroots advocacy. And I believe it’s going to take telling more stories like Florence’s.

If you’ve been impacted by DOMA, click here to sign the petition and tell us your story at repealDOMA.com. It’s imperative that we begin to tell the stories of the Americans hurt every day by the injustice of DOMA, so that we can put faces and names to this discriminatory policy. Only then will we truly be able to start changing hearts and minds, both among my colleagues in Congress and around the country.

We did it with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and we’ll do it with DOMA. The time to start is now.

Thank you for standing with me and DFA for equality for all Americans.

– Kirsten

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

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State senator: Gay marriage in Washington State ‘closer to reality’

06/27/2011 Nativegrl77

In May of 2009 A Note from Dan Savage was sent … and a warning against Ref71, stating :

We need to take a stand for equality.

All of us. In Washington, committed same-sex couples and their families now enjoy the same legal protections granted to married couples under state law. The radical right just filed a referendum—Referendum 71—to repeal many of those protections and benefits.

In Washington, today, we need everyone who believes in equality to take a stand for civil rights and decline to sign the Referendum 71 petitions. Especially straight people.

Everyone.

Yes, a lot has been done since then but in this year of 2011
Washington State is still a few votes away from marriage
equality. However, with news that the NYC State Senate approved gay
marriage the article below offers hope for the people of Washington State
to finally move into the 21st century. I have to say the thing that came to my
mind is how much revenue NYC is about to see in the next few weeks, months and
years. It will be incredible for those in the Wedding Business as well as
anything associated. It is just one more state that is willing to see that old
habits can die because our youth just do not see life, love, and equality as
something that should only be legal for a select few. I think equality is a
right not a privilege and while some folks are slow, others should know that
they have to separate church from state and act according. Anyway, the article
below is from the SeattlePI blog

State sen.: Gay marriage in Wash. ‘closer to reality’

One of the architects of a law that gave broad rights to same-sex couples in Washington state says New York’s recognition of gay marriage will make it easier to pass similar legislation in the Evergreen State.

Murray

Late Friday the New York state Senate approved a gay marriage bill, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign. New York will become the sixth and largest state to recognize marriages between gay couples.

State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, said in a statement that New York provides “momentum for the rest of the nation, including Washington, to follow suit.

“Over the past several years, the Legislature and the public together have been steadily building a bridge to equality for gay and lesbian families. Gay and lesbian families in Washington now enjoy the same state spousal rights that their married straight friends enjoy – except for the name ‘marriage’. Though we have yet to realize full marriage equality, with today’s vote that goal seems more achievable than it was yesterday and closer to reality than ever before.”

Murray helped pass Washington state’s original domestic partnership law in 2007, which provided inheritance rights in cases where there was no will, hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations.

In 2009, Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, were among the main proponents of the “everything but marriage” bill that passed the Legislature, greatly expanding the rights of same-sex couples to include things like workers’ compensation coverage, the right to use sick leave to care for a spouse, victims’ rights, including the right to receive notifications and benefits allowances. Business succession rights and legal process rights, such as the ability to sign certain documents, the requirement to join in certain petitions, rights to cause of action, and ability to transfer licenses without charge.

FUSE …Together for Progress

	Rob McKenna’s $5.76 Billion Education Plan Flunks Basic Math In his campaign announcement last Wednesday, Rob McKenna proposed $5.76 billion in new spending but left voters in the dark about how he would pay for it. He’s even relying on budget projections he repeatedly criticized just two months ago. Read more >
	Rob McKenna: A Career Fighting Against Progress Rob McKenna has announced his candidacy for Governor of our state, and we believe he would roll back years of progress that we’ve worked for in Washington. He has established a clear track record of rewarding conservative corporate interests and pandering to Tea Party extremists, all while trying to sound like a moderate in public. Check out our rapid response video exposing McKenna’s conservative record. Read more >
	2011 Legislature: What happened? After nearly five months of regular and special session, the state Legislature finally passed a budget late last week and adjourned for the year. We’re not going to sugarcoat things – it was a very tough session. As progressives, we definitely took our lumps, especially on the budget. But we also generated real hope for the future with a powerful, sustained wave of grassroots energy and an impressive level of collaboration among progressive groups. And we helped pass a few other sweet bills that make the budget a little easier to swallow. Click here for the rundown on some key legislation from this year. Read more >
	Workers deserve paid sick leave! The Seattle City Council is considering an ordinance that would give every worker the right to take sick leave without sacrificing wages. Workers would earn leave that could be used for preventative care, for sick days, or to care for a family member. Businesses also benefit from healthier, happier, more productive employees. Let the City Council and the Mayor know that you support paid sick leave! Click here to send a mesage! Read more >
	Keep Eastside light rail moving forward! Fuse members overwhelmingly supported light rail on the Eastside and are ready to campaign for it. People in Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Sammamish, Renton, Seattle, and dozens of other cities will benefit from this critical transit hub. And taking thousands of cars off the road every day will lead to healthier neighborhoods for all of us. Click here to sign our petition to the Bellevue City Council telling them to keep our communities moving forward with light rail! Read more >
	Tell Rob McKenna: Not in Washington! Attorney General Rob McKenna called unionization of teachers, firefighters, and other public employees unnecessary and “dangerous.” And last year he tried to block a voter-approved minimum wage increase. McKenna is the poster child for union busting conservatives and big corporations here in Washington, and his clear goal is to be our next governor. Click here to sign our petition calling on Rob McKenna to stop attacking working families! Read more >
	LivingGreedy: The best deals on closing tax loopholes, guaranteed We’ve launched a fun new website called LivingGreedy.com to turn the table on greedy special interests, and to show exactly which essential services we could save by closing their loopholes. Read more >
	How are we doing? Take our survey! 2010 has been quite a year. As we develop our plans and priorities for 2011, we want to know what you’d like to see us do in the upcoming year, and would like your feedback on what we’ve done well and what we can improve on. Read more >

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NOM Exposed: A Facebook Swarm -from Kevin Nix

04/21/2011 Nativegrl77

A door just opened, one that allows all of us to further expose and challenge the homophobia of the National Organization for Marriage.

You may have heard about Louis Marinelli, NOM’s online strategist who recently resigned because he supports marriage equality. He took all of the organization’s 290,000 Facebook fans with him. They’ve just begun to rebuild a Facebook fan base from scratch.

Here’s where you come in. If everyone on this list – after holding your nose – friended NOM, pro-equality supporters would outnumber NOM’s current anti-equality supporters 6 to 1.

But you know what would really make an impact? Leave a comment on NOM’s Facebook posts. Let’s saturate their page with positive, fact-based pro-equality messages. Some suggestions:

-Marriage for gays and lesbians will do nothing to religious freedom. Houses of worship will continue to decide whether they want to recognize gay marriages, or not. We’re talking about committed gay and lesbian couples going down to city hall to get married.

-Gay couples want to make the public commitment of marriage – and be held accountable for that commitment .

-Credible polls show a majority of American Catholics actually support marriage for gay and lesbian couples. People in the pews do not necessarily agree with the Catholic hierarchy.

You can get more ideas for comments in our “Fact” section of NOMExposed.org. But – please – don’t leave personal, ad hominem attacks. Don’t let them drag you into the gutter. No tit for tat. That gets us nowhere. We need elevated, positive conversation.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=5k_xjG_BkXX9ISoCeENCgQ..

One last thing. The fight for marriage in New York is heating up. While HRC and other LGBT groups just launched a new campaign in New York. NOM has too and is trying to mobilize its people. If you live in New York State, become a NY NOMWatcher. We need more eyes and ears on the ground and online.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=4anDOjLLVetvFWAvD1fd8g..

As always, thanks for your interest and engagement.

Kevin Nix

Director, NOM Project

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a message from Joe Solmonese …Our enemies are relentless – we need your help

04/07/2011 Nativegrl77

You can be a leader in helping us defend critical victories in the fight for equality. All it will take is 67 cents a day – less than the cost of a candy bar or a bottle of water.

An end to the hateful Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Critical protections for same-sex couples. Constant pressure on Congress – and unyielding work to secure lasting marriage equality in state after state.

Will you be one of the select few – the HRC Partners – who don’t just join these fights, but lead our movement to victory?

By midnight tonight, HRC needs 100 people like you to take their support to the next level with a monthly gift

Why give monthly?

www.hrc.org

•It’s easy on your budget, and it goes a long way. Most of us don’t think twice about keeping the lights on or the car insured – aren’t fundamental rights just as essential?

•The enemy is relentless, shameless, and animated by hatred. A Congress elected to tackle economic issues has set its sights on defending discrimination at any cost. It takes steady resources to fight back with national grassroots pressure, direct lobbying, public education programs, and hard-hitting media campaigns.

•Monthly giving is the right wing‘s bread and butter. We need to match our opponents – gift for gift, dollar for dollar. Or, to put it a finer point on it, for every 67 cents they pour in, we must do the same. These are the critical funds we use to counter right-wing lies and push back assaults on equality – all at a moment’s notice.

That’s why we need you to become an HRC Partner by midnight TONIGHT and claim your eco-friendly tote as a thank-you gift.

Now’s not the time to relent – we can’t afford to give one inch back to the radical right. Take the next step with us, and help us ensure we don’t.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese

President