Equality California, Jordan / Rustin Coalition Launch Mobilization Effort on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples in African-American Communities, Outreach Includes TV ad, on-the-ground organizing

Los Angeles – As same-sex couples who were able to legally marry last year celebrate their one-year-anniversaries, Equality California (EQCA) and Jordan / Rustin Coalition (JRC) are together launching an education and mobilization effort on the freedom to marry in LA's African-American communities. The effort includes a TV commercial, on-the-ground organizers and a dedicated field office, which will be based in South Los Angeles, a predominantly African-American community.

"Jordan / Rustin Coalition is happy to partner with Equality California as we do the work to open the hearts and minds of all Californians, including those in the Black community, on the question of marriage for same-sex couples," said Ron Buckmire, JRC board president. "Our partnership includes a multi-media campaign, outreach and public education and even the nuts and bolts of staffing and supplies. I am confident that together we will see the day when full LGBT equality is restored to our state."

As part of today's launch, the organizations released a television ad that features a gay African-American couple, Xavier and Michael Boykin-Haggood, along with three of their five children, Dante, Emmanuel and Fatima. The family lives in LA's Leimert Park neighborhood. Their ad is scheduled to air starting the week of June 22nd.

"As we celebrate this one-year-anniversary of marriages in California, we are proud to be working with Jordan / Rustin Coalition to have conversations with African-Americans about marriage for same-sex couples," said EQCA Marriage Director Marc Solomon. "As people really get to know our families, they will see they have the same hopes, dreams and concerns as any other family and simply want the protections and dignity that marriage affords."
The office is slated to open later this summer. JRC, EQCA, and a coalition of grassroots and community leaders rooted in South Los Angeles will work collaboratively to organize outreach events and lead door-to-door efforts to talk with African-American Californians.

 

To view the television ad, click here: http://www.eqca.org/michael&xavier
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
The mission of the Barbara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition (or Jordan / Rustin Coalition) is to empower Black same-gender loving, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and families in Greater Los Angeles, to promote equal marriage rights and to advocate for fair treatment of everyone without regard to race, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. www.jordanrustin.org

Brown now fights Prop. 8 in federal court

Attorney General Jerry Brown, who tried to persuade the state Supreme Court to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage, took the same position in federal court Friday, saying Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equality.
The initiative approved by the voters in November "denies gay and lesbian couples and their families the same dignity, respect and stature afforded families headed by a married couple," Brown's office said in a filing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Two same-sex couples, represented by attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies - the courtroom adversaries in the Bush vs. Gore case that decided the 2000 presidential election - challenged Prop. 8 in federal court on May 22, four days before the state's high court upheld it.
The suit argued that Prop. 8 denies equal protection of the law to same-sex couples by relegating them to domestic partnerships while opposite-sex couples are allowed to marry. The state's high court used a similar rationale in a May 2008 ruling that allowed gay and lesbian couples to wed, but based its decision on the state Constitution, which was then amended by Prop. 8. See Brown now fights Prop. 8 in federal court San Francisco Chronicle

Obama Administration's DOMA Defense Unacceptable

Paul Hogarth writes:

"When Barack Obama ran for President, he pledged to fully repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a mean-spirited piece of legislation that Bill Clinton signed in 1996 for crass political reasons. Obama says it’s still his intent to do so, but has yet to follow up with any action. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department filed a brief late last week defending a constitutional challenge to DOMA. The brief did not merely argue against the lawsuit on technical grounds such as the plaintiffs’ lack of standing, but advanced legal arguments that – if pursued by the courts – could greatly damage gay and lesbian rights. Most lawyers at the Justice Department who write these briefs are civil servants who cannot be replaced by a new President, and one of the authors was in fact a right-wing holdover from the Bush years. But Tony West, an Obama appointee and the brother-in-law of San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, allowed it to be filed in court – and his name appears on the front page. As Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, West may argue that he’s “just doing his job” – i.e., defending existing federal law. But the Administration can use discretion in these lawsuits, making this unacceptable.The Politics Behind DOMASponsored by Georgia Republican Bob Barr, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed the Newt Gingrich Congress in 1996 – and Bill Clinton signed it into law while denouncing it as gay bashing. Clinton’s re-election campaign then advertised on Christian radio, touting his passage of DOMA as being pro-“family values.” The federal law did two things. It allowed states to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, which is why California was able to pass Proposition 22 in March 2000. It also barred federal benefits for same-sex couples (e.g., federal taxes, Social Security and immigration rights) – even if a state had marriage rights or civil unions.In 2007, I asked Hillary Clinton if she would support repealing DOMA. She argued it “served a very important purpose,” but agreed that Part 3 (which bars all federal benefits) should be scrapped. Barack Obama, who was running against her for President, promised to repeal the whole legislation. For this and other reasons, I argued that he would make a better President for the LGBT community. I did not fault Obama for his rhetoric that marriage is “a man and a woman,” because his policy pledges were sound. While many gays and lesbians complained throughout the campaign, I retorted that he (a) opposed Proposition 8 and (b) would repeal DOMA.Today, Congress has yet to pass – and Obama has yet to sign – legislation repealing DOMA. Which is not by itself a betrayal, because he never promised when the repeal would happen – and the recession has understandably kept the White House busy. Obama is cautious to a fault, and it’s clear he has tried during the first year to avoid getting pigeon-holed like Bill Clinton did on gays in the military. Prop 8 was also politically devastating to the effort at repealing DOMA, because it showed that even California rejects marriage equality. As a community organizer, Obama understands that activists cannot expect change without mobilizing a base. While advocates must keep pushing Obama on his promise, it will require a few more political victories before DOMA gets repealed.Justice Department Brief is a BetrayalAction by the Justice Department to oppose a lawsuit challenging DOMA, however, is a betrayal. A gay California couple that legally married before Prop 8 passed has sued to repeal DOMA on constitutional grounds, after the Bush Administration defeated their prior effort. Last week, the Obama Administration – through the U.S. Justice Department – filed a motion to dismiss their case. The brief argued that the couple lacks standing to sue, because they had not applied to get federal benefits that married couples enjoy – nor did they attempt to have their marriage recognized in a different state. The case could get thrown out for that reason alone, but I don’t have a problem with the Obama Administration raising those arguments.But the brief then proceeds to defend DOMA “on the merits” – using language that is factually incorrect, and arguments that (if adopted by the courts) would damage future attempts to secure gay rights. The Administration argued that the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not bar states from denying out-of-state gay marriages, and they cited prior cases of out-of-state marriages that were between (a) an uncle and niece, (b) a 16-year-old and adult and (c) first cousins. Comparing same-sex marriage with incest and pedophilia is what one would expect from a Republican Administration, and for a court to agree with such reasoning is unhelpful.I was not surprised that the brief said homosexuals are not a “suspect class,” because that is what federal courts currently recognize (as opposed to the California or Iowa Constitutions.) But I was shocked to see it argue that DOMA is “related to legitimate government interests,” because the federal government has an interest in saving money. In Romer v. Evans, the U.S. Supreme Court found that a Colorado proposition did not have a “rational basis” – because its only possible justification was anti-gay bias. For the Obama Administration to distinguish DOMA from Romer by dreaming up a “rational basis” will hurt future legal efforts on this issue.But the most offensive part of the brief was how it defended Part 3 of DOMA, which bars same-sex couples from any federal benefits. Calling DOMA a “cautious policy of federal neutrality towards a new form of marriage,” the lawyers argued that Part 3 “does not discriminate against gays for federal benefits.” Which, of course, is patently false. DOMA is not a case of the federal government taking a “neutral” stance on a controversial topic. Part 3 expressly says the federal government will not recognize gay couples, even if a state chooses to acknowledge their marriage. Nor is it merely a “cautious” policy. Only twice has the U.S. Congress ever acted in its 200-year history to restrict marriage: (a) in 1865 when it made polygamy a crime, and (b) in 1996 when it passed DOMA."

See More of Obama Administration's DOMA Defense Unacceptable - Jun 15 Beyond Chron Site feed @ http://www.oasiscalifornia.org/news/atom.xml

Same-Sex Couples, Faith leaders Celebrate First Anniversary of Marriage

Community members to hold anniversary events across the state, honoring historic milestone

Faith leaders, same-sex couples, friends and family will gather across the state to celebrate in honor of the one-year-anniversary of couples who married last year when same-sex couples were able to legally marry. Faith leaders will offer brief remarks, and couples will gather for a group photo at each event.

These events are schedule for:

June 16, Los Angeles: 4 p.m. West Hollywood Park 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard

San Francisco: 6:30 p.m. First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco 1187 Franklin St, Starr King Room

June 17 Fresno: 6 PM  Historic Water Tower in Downtown Fresno 2444 Fresno St.

Inland Empire: 6:30 p.m. Redlands UCC Church 168 Bellevue Ave.

 

Orange County: 6 p.m. Fairview Community Church, Costa Mesa 2525 Fairview Rd.

San Diego: 5:30 p.m.  Mission Hills United Church of Christ  4070 Jackdaw St.

Sacramento: 6 p.m.  Sacramento County Clerk's Office 600 8th St.

 

For more information, please visit: www.eqca.org/anniversary

Event sponsors include, Equality California, California Faith for Equality, Marriage Equality USA, Jordan Rustin Coalition, API Equality – LA, Equality Inland Empire, Redlands United Church of Christ's Christians for Marriage Equality, Orange County Equality Coalition, Equality Action NOW, PFLAG, Courage Campaign- Fresno Equality Team, Yes! on Equality, and Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry, Spousesforlifeproject.com.
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
California Faith for Equality is a statewide network of clergy and lay leaders from a diversity of faith traditions who are committed to equality. www.cafaithforequality.org
Marriage Equality USA is a national organization whose mission is to secure legally recognized civil marriage equality for all, at the federal and state level, without regard to gender identity or sexual orientation. www.marriageequality.org

'Come Out' Album's Message: God Loves You Just as Gay as You Are

LOS ANGELES, CA  -- Gospel singer and an out lesbian member of clergy in the Gospel Truth Music Ministry (http://www.rizigospel.com/), the Rev. Rizi Nasele Timane' is unveiling her new album "Come Out," a collection of original songs that call for full human rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. As part of the album's promotion, Timane' is touring the United States during the summer of 2009.

The album's title song challenges the fundamentalist notion that God and the Bible condemn homosexuality and strives to educate the public about what the Bible really says and does not say about homosexuality. "I have extensively studied the Greek and Hebrew translations of the Bible, and I found that, when interpreted properly, the Bible does not condemn homosexuality at all," stated Timane'.

"I'm the first out lesbian reverend and gospel singer from Nigeria, West Africa," Timane' continued. "I was one of the first people to identify as openly gay in homophobic Africa, and I know firsthand how that rejection translates to drug addiction and suicide." According to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Additionally, San Francisco State University's Chavez Center Institute has found that LGBTQ youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers because of the negative treatment endured.

"For LGBT persons, this painful struggle with religion or spirituality and sexuality is responsible for depression, low self-esteem, drug addiction, self-abuse, isolation and the entering into of false heterosexual marriages," said Timane'. "Worst of all, it's responsible for thousands of suicides each year in the LGBT community, especially amongst our teens and young adults. It is my hope to put a stop to these negative traits and suicides by re-educating our community."

"Anti-LGBT arguments like the one contending that California's Proposition 8 ensures children's wellbeing by providing them with a mother and father are totally absurd. In the case of Proposition 8, the state's laws permit adoption by gay and lesbian parents as well as single parents and even allows courts to assign a single grandparent, aunt, uncle or even a non-blood relative to be a child's guardian or caregiver," continued Timane'.

"The goal of my new album is to enable any LGBT person seeking God to know that God loves them just as gay as they are," states Timane'. She also wants to help those who are struggling with their spirituality and sexuality, just as she did for many years, to finally find complete reconciliation and affirmation.

Gospel music lovers and Timane' fans will be able to attend live performances at the following times and events:

-- June 20 at 2:50 p.m., Rhode Island PrideFest in Station Park

-- June 27 at 3 p.m. and June 28 at 12:30 p.m., San Francisco Pride Celebration in Civic Center Plaza

-- July 9 at 7:30 p.m., Annual Fellowship Convention in Westin Atlanta Airport hotel

-- July 18 at 2 p.m., San Diego Gay Pride 2009 in Balboa Park

To learn more about Timane' and her experiences as a gay Christian that inspired her music, visit http://www.rizigospel.com/.

  "Come Out" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfre1lV61Es

New Miss California also against gay marriage

Miss California USA's executive director says the pageant would never try to silence new titleholder Tami Farrell's stance against gay marriage.

Keith Lewis told The Associated Press on Friday that he wants all of the beauty contestants he deals with to be able to voice their opinions as long as they don't violate their contracts.

See New Miss California also against gay marriage San Jose Mercury News

Brown now fights Prop. 8 in federal court

Attorney General Jerry Brown, who tried to persuade the state Supreme Court to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage, took the same position in federal court Friday, saying Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equality.

The initiative approved by the voters in November "denies gay and lesbian couples and their families the same dignity, respect and stature afforded families headed by a married couple," Brown's office said in a filing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Two same-sex couples, represented by attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies - the courtroom adversaries in the Bush vs. Gore case that decided the 2000 presidential election - challenged Prop. 8 in federal court on May 22, four days before the state's high court upheld it.

The suit argued that Prop. 8 denies equal protection of the law to same-sex couples by relegating them to domestic partnerships while opposite-sex couples are allowed to marry. The state's high court used a similar rationale in a May 2008 ruling that allowed gay and lesbian couples to wed, but based its decision on the state Constitution, which was then amended by Prop. 8.

Gay-rights groups have avoided bringing up federal constitutional issues in the marriage cases, fearful of a U.S. Supreme Court defeat that would set their cause back for years. Brown's refusal to support Prop. 8 means that the conservative Christian groups who sponsored Prop. 8 will defend it in federal court, as they did in the state Supreme Court.

See Brown now fights Prop. 8 in federal court San Francisco Chronicle

Gay bishop says faith groups key to NH gay marriage vote

New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage on Wednesday (June 3) in part because faith leaders testified that the measure would not impinge on religious rights, according to V. Gene Robinson, the state's openly gay Episcopal bishop.

When credible Christians, Muslims and Jews advocated for same-sex marriage, it "had a lot of sway with legislators in terms of giving them cover," said Robinson. "Our message was loud and clear: religious organizations have nothing to fear from civil marriage for same-gendered folks."

Robinson, who was elected bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, joined his longtime partner in a civil union last year. Under the New Hampshire law, their union will automatically be considered a marriage on Jan. 1, 2010.

"I'm still about 30 feet off the ground, hovering somewhere on high," Robinson said in a conference call with reporters on Thursday.

The legislation signed by Gov. John Lynch on Wednesday contains explicit legal protections for religious groups that object to same-gender relationships and makes Rhode Island the only state in New England that does not allow gay marriage.

Robinson said separating the civil and religious aspects of marriage and making clear that religious groups would not be required to sanction same-gender weddings was key to the effort.

"We made sure that our ... bill here stated and overstated and restated the fact that no religious liberties would be abridged in the embrace of civil marriage -- that no religious institutions would be required to do anything against its own beliefs," Robinson said. "It largely undercut the argument from the other side."

Two separate studies released on Wednesday concluded that anti-gay marriage groups relied heavily on religious language to successfully push for ballot initiatives in Michigan in 2004 and California in 2008 that outlawed gay marriage.

"A religious opposition requires a religious response," said the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and an author of one of the reports.

Robinson said, "I think it's about emboldening legislators to see people like them who identify as Roman Catholic or American Baptist or Methodist or Lutheran (and) say `OK, this ... is clearly a person of faith, so despite what the denomination says as a whole I've got a fairly firm piece of ground to stand on here."

 See  Gay bishop says faith groups key to NH gay marriage vote

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Santa Monica: Proposition 8 supporters, foes plan next moves as

Local proponents of same-sex marriage took to the streets in a boisterous yet peaceful demonstration following the May 26th ruling by the California Supreme Court that upheld Proposition 8, the controversial 2008 ballot initiative that denied gay and lesbian couples the right to marry under state law.

The ballot measure passed by a slim margin on November 4th.

Over 100 demonstrators began their march at the Church in Ocean Park in Santa Monica several hours after the court ruling was announced and continued down Main Street, where they were greeted with honks and waves by passing motorists.

The rally ended at the Santa Monica Courthouse, where dozens expressed their thoughts on what should be the next step in the incendiary battle for gay and lesbian couples to obtain the legal right to marry.

Despite the legal setback, the protesters appeared to be in relatively good spirits.

“I thought that the (rally) was very upbeat,” said Rev. Janet McKeithen, a minister at the Church in Ocean Park, a long-time bastion for social change in Santa Monica. “A lot of people told me later that it was very empowering.”
See Santa Monica: Proposition 8 supporters, foes plan next moves as ... Marina del Rey Argonaut

Same-sex union ban a shame on US

Some states offer domestic partnerships and civil unions — a major step in the right direction — but stopping there is akin to the “separate but equal” doctrine under the Jim Crow laws of the late 1800s and early 1900s that had blacks drinking from separate water fountains than whites.

Slavery was legal in the U.S. just 150 years ago, some women couldn’t vote just 100 years ago and the reality of a black president seemed far away just two years ago. It is my belief that we will one day look back on the banning of same-sex marriage — perhaps the last legally-enforced prejudice in North America — with the same humility and quiet shame. See Same-sex union ban a shame on US Metro Canda - Edmonto

Many domestic partners face deadline to reduce property tax hikes

Many gays, lesbians and seniors who registered their domestic partnerships in the early part of this decade were later hit with huge property-tax reassessments after their partners died or they broke off their relationships.But they have until the end of this month to get those increases reversed.The reversals are available to individuals who registered as domestic partners before Jan. 1, 2006, but were slapped with property tax hikes when their relationships ended or their partners died. The increases occurred because under laws enacted before 2006, couples in domestic partnerships were not treated like married couples when it came to property reassessment."I've known a number of people who had to give up their property because a partner died," said longtime lesbian activist Wiggsy Sivertsen, a counselor and sociology professor at San Jose State University.Under a 2007 law sponsored by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, the reassessments can be reversed. But time is running out: Forms must be filed at county assessors' offices by June 30.Three years ago, domestic partners in California obtained the same property-tax rights as married people. But the new law was not retroactive, so gay and straight domestic partners who registered from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2005, were treated differently from those who registered afterward. See Many domestic partners face deadline to reduce property tax hikesSan Jose Mercury News
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

Celebs Show Support at March for Gay Marriage NBC Bay Area

Last weekend-long event attracted well-known activists and celebrities like Charlize Theron.

Hundreds of same-sex couples are marching through dusty California farm towns in the state's conservative center to kick off the latest front in the battle over gay marriage.

Just days after California's highest court upheld a ban on gay marriage, advocates say they won't be dissuaded. They are vowing to win the hearts and minds of those who reject their unions See Celebs Show Support at March for Gay Marriage NBC Bay Area

One and One-Half Class Citizen

he weirdly split decision of the California Supreme Courts puts me and my husband in an odd position indeed. When I saw the T-shirts and stickers at the May 26 and 27 protests that said, “Second-Class Citizen,” I wondered what that made Charles and me. We can’t really call ourselves second-class citizens since we are legally married in the state of California — we were before Proposition 8 was passed and we still are — but we can’t really call ourselves first-class citizens, either, because people just like us, same-sex couples who have been together as long as we have, are just as committed to each other and deserve the mutual rights, responsibilities and protections of legal civil marriage just as much as we do can’t have what we have now.

So the morning after the decision, as I was writing my journal about it, I coined the phrase “one and one-half class citizen” to explain how I feel now and what my husband’s and my truly anomalous position under California law is. I joked that I felt marriage in California had become like a Popeil ad — like those products that are direct-marketed on TV by breathless announcers who scream, over the slide containing the company’s address, phone number and (these days, at least) Web site address, “Order now! Before midnight tomorrow!” Order now — before the voters force us to withdraw this offer!

It’s diabolically unfair that Charles and I get to be married only because we were both politically savvy enough to realize that we were facing a potential voter-imposed deadline and we’d better make sure we got hitched well before Proposition 8 went to the polls. Other couples who thought they had all the time in the world to make that decision — including younger couples who might have wanted, like responsible young straight couples, to wait until they were really sure of the enduring strength and solidity of their relationships before taking the plunge into legally sanctioned matrimony — found themselves S.O.L. after November 4, 2008. Yet another irony in the whole situation is that opponents of the Queer community are always accusing us of demanding “special rights” — yet, by passing Proposition 8 and denying the right of same-sex couples in California to marry in the future while leaving our marriages intact, they’ve effectively given Charles and I, and the other couples who answered the Popeil ad in time, “special rights” we neither wanted nor expected.

http://zengersmag.blogspot.com

See One and One-Half Class Citizen Bay Area Indymedia

How to Sell Marriage Equality

Last week, the gay-marriage movement in San Francisco sent volunteers to Fresno to start canvassing for the support of voters in more conservative parts of California. Here are some tips for how to win over people who live in conservative counties:

• Don't start a conversation by saying, "Your God is a lie."

• The connection between the persecution of gays and the situation in Palestine is not as clear as you think.

• Don't refer to stuff you did at Burning Man.

• No one will be impressed by all the gay celebrities you can name.

• Try saying, "You have a very nice lawn" instead of "How do you live in this godforsaken hellhole?"

• "Christian" is not regarded as an insult in all parts of the country.

• Shouting "Fascist!" is not an appropriate way to say, "We'd like to count on your vote."

• That hilarious story you tell about how stupid someone has to be to join the military isn't funny to veterans.

• In many parts of California, citizens do not believe that you can judge a person by their carbon footprint.

• Try to keep the focus strictly on the right of gay people to love one another, instead of branching out into the need for legalized pot.

• Try to avoid mentioning astrology ... even if you're really, really sure that the guy with the American flag on his front lawn is a Libra and thus open-minded.

See How to Sell Marriage Equality

SF Weekly

* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

Poll: CA split on same sex marriage/Ballot measure for 2010

Just as another New England state greenlit same sex marriage Wednesday, a new California poll released Wednesday found that Californians are roughly split on same sex marriage. ("When asked, 'Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose allowing same -- sex couples to be legally married," 47 percent say favor and 48 percent say oppose. The poll was taken before last week's CA Supreme Court decision affirming Proposition 8.

So dead even, in margin of error terms, said co-pollster David Binder.

"I'm not suprised," said Charles Sheehan, co-director of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. "It's better than we were last fall."

The poll was comissioned by a group of same sex marriage supporter groups as a way to help them figure out their next steps -- like when to ask voters to vote again on the issue. Here's what Binder and co-pollster Amy Simon found:

The 2012 Option:

"Higher turnout because of presidential election. But the pollsters "the additional voters that will come to the polls in a Presidential election are divided in their view of marriage for same-sex couples. Voters that will only turn out in a 2012 scenario are divided between younger voters who strongly support same-sex marriage and older Anglo, Latino and African American religious voters who are opposed to marriage for same‐sex couples."

"While our modeling does indicate that 2012 will provide an extra 1-2 points of support for a marriage equality ballot measure, this difference may be impacted by many other factors in the larger political landscape at that time," say the pollsters.

The 2010 Option: "It is likely that the Democratic nominee for Governor in 2010 will be an advocate of marriage equality, which would provide a high level spokesperson for the issue. In 2012, there is more uncertainty about the stance that President Obama may have on a marriage equality ballot measure during his expected re-election campaign."

Nonetheless, reps from some of the groups anticipated to lead the next same sex marriage ballot initiative sound like they're leaning toward 2010. Polls conducted by both Equality California and Courage Campaign have overwhelmingly said their supporters want to go to the ballot in 2010. Over the next month -- in an effort called the "Get Engaged Tour" -- organizations supporting same sex marriage will ask their members their preference.

Posted By: Joe Garofoli (Email) | June 03 2009 at 04:54 PM

Young, Queer and Reflecting on Organizing Around Marriage

I was in San Francisco last week when the California Supreme Court announced its decision upholding Prop 8 and I took the opportunity to interview some of my friends in the LGBT community about their thoughts on the efforts to organize for marriage.

Going into this project, I wasn’t sure what I’d hear. I knew from previous conversations that many in my community of young, queer activists had questioned whether LGBT organizations should continue to prioritize marriage recognition at the cost of other LGBT advocacy efforts.

While some folks were still questioning our community’s attention to marriage, I heard from other folks that their opinions on the significance of marriage had changed after they’d witnessed the nationwide mobilizations in the wake of Prop 8. One definite effect of the mobilizations and the prominence of marriage in the public discourse was that my friends seemed to have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how they felt about marriage both personally and politically. As Jon, a grad student in public health at Berkley, said, marriage became something he “had to take more of an opinion on.”

I found the diversity of perspectives offered in these conversations insightful and so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a few clips in the following video @ Young, Queer and Reflecting on Organizing Around Marriage

What Does the Top-Secret California Marriage Polling Reveal?

At 11:30am PST today, an umbrella group of gay organizations like the Courage Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Marriage Equality U.S.A., and Equality California will deliver the results from its polling of where California's voters stand on same-sex marriage. Yes, this is the same data Fresno organizers wanted to keep secret. To those involved, the data is of utmost importance, because it could determine whether to push for a ballot measure overturning Prop 8 in 2010, or whether the analysis shows we should wait until 2012, or even head in another course of action. The results of the poll will be delivered over a conference call (only media are invited to join). But Queerty received a preview of what to expect.

"Opinion on marriage for same-sex couples in California is almost evenly divided, with opponents holding a 1% to 2% edge," says the data from the Poll4Equality Coalition, which conducted the survey. Depending on how you look at it, that's either good or bad news. Bad, because it shows we still have more convincing to do. And good, because it shows there's only a small margin to overcome.

But knowing the state is nearly evenly divided on gay marriage, the important information the poll delivers is: If we're going to put the issue on the ballot, how do we phrase the wording?

When asked, “Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose allowing same-sex couples to be legally married?," the survey found 47 percent saying "favor" and 48 percent saying "oppose." The data shows "support increases if the language specifically includes a provision that says no clergy will be required to perform a service that goes against their faith," according to the the document provided to Queerty.

As for the 2010 vs. 2012 issue? "Modeling turnout scenarios for 2010 and 2012 indicate that there is a small advantage to same?sex marriage supporters in a 2012 electorate. This is based on a considerably higher turnout that is expected in 2012 due to the Presidential election. However, the additional voters that will come to the polls in a Presidential election are divided in their view of marriage for same?sex couples. Voters
that will only turn out in a 2012 scenario are divided between younger voters who strongly support same?sex marriage and older Anglo, Latino and African American religious voters who are opposed to marriage for same?sex couples. While our modeling does indicate that 2012 will provide an extra 1?2 points of support for a marriage equality ballot measure, this difference may be impacted by many other factors in the larger political landscape at that time."

See What Does the Top-Secret California Marriage Polling Reveal? Queerty

Prop 8 decision puts up red flags to local arts people

It was an unusual press release from the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. As the immediate impact of the California State Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Prop 8 was starting to sink in, local arts groups and civic associations were scrambling to head off an explosive backlash.
“While I am personally disappointed with the California Supreme Court’s decision, I encourage all gay and lesbian visitors to experience and embrace the rich diversity that San Francisco represents,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president & CEO of the visitors bureau. “San Francisco has long been at the forefront of the struggle for LGBT rights and our community continues to welcome all couples and recognize and celebrate all unions, despite this ruling.”
Mayor Gavin Newsom was philosophical.

“California, at its best, is a beacon of equal rights and equal opportunities,” he said, “If we want to prosper together, we must respect each other. It is up to every single one of us who supports marriage equality to reach out to those who still disagree with our position, and have a personal conversation about why it is so important to treat every Californian equally.”

That language from Mr. Newsom is a little more conciliatory than “whether you like it or not.”
Lots of people in the theater community were bracing for trouble last Tuesday night. 
Promoters of press screenings for movies, such as Disney’s Up, which showed for a select audience at the Castro Theatre, quickly e-mailed reviewers en masse, assuring them that the show would go on, even if there were a riot in the Castro, similar to the White Night Riots of 1979 after a jury gave Dan White a perceived light sentence for murdering George Moscone and Harvey Milk.

“San Francisco has a long history of welcoming the gay and lesbian community,” said Joie de Vivre Hospitality founder and CEO Chip Conley. “Even as recently as this month, the City was named Best Domestic Destination in the U.S. in the 2009 Gay.com Travel Awards.”


Many were not all that surprised by the court’s decision to uphold Prop 8. Seemingly contradictory, though, the justices decided to validate 18,000 same sex marriages.

“I am not surprised at all by the decision, “ said a rueful John Castanon just before the decision. He’s the manager of the popular Florio restaurant on Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights.
“I only hope that my marriage to my partner for life, John P. Carroll, will still be considered valid and legal,” Castanon explained.

With the court’s decision to retain the legal status of 18,000 same sex marriages, Castanon’s marriage is still one for the books, and will remain that way – whether anyone likes it or not. See Prop 8 decision puts up red flags to local arts people NorthSide San Francisco

Setting the (Gay) Wedding Table

Wiser, more diffuse, battle-savvy gay-rights groups craft a 2010 ballot measure for California

By Patrick Range McDonald

At 7 p.m. on a clear, balmy night in West Hollywood, the gym bunnies, drag queens, high school and college students, power gays, lipstick lesbians, middle-aged activists, blue jean–wearing bears and assorted gay friendlies had gathered once again. The nighttime rally on May 26 was the last, soul-aching event of a day filled with press conferences and protests, where gay-rights leaders and their straight allies denounced the California Supreme Court’s ruling that upheld Proposition 8 and finally banned, without question, gay marriage in the Golden State.

“We come from a stock of people who have been thrown down but are ready to get up and fight — again and again and again,” West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran yelled into a microphone as he stood on a flatbed truck parked in the middle of San Vicente Boulevard near the Pacific Design Center.

The crowd of several thousand people clapped and cheered, and then Lt. Dan Choi, who had recently been discharged from the Army because he came out as a gay man on national television, took the mike, declaring, “I’m a soldier! And love is worth fighting for!”

Newspaper photographers aimed their cameras and snapped away, radio reporters held up their microphones, TV-news cameramen shot as much coverage as they could, and print journalists and bloggers scribbled in their notebooks or tapped on BlackBerries. The heart-wrenching scene, where gay and lesbian couples held each other tightly, some with children sitting on their shoulders, looked like past sad nights following gay-rights losses. But whether people knew it or not, something much larger was playing out before the crowd and press — a new campaign to pass a pro–gay marriage ballot measure in California was making its prime-time debut.

See Setting the (Gay) Wedding Table

LA Weekly

* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

Marriage advocates 'Meet in the Middle'

Thousands of LGBTs and allies gathered for several hours in hot and humid Fresno four days after the state Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 to say that they're tired of waiting for their rights to be recognized.

The rally, dubbed Meet in the Middle 4 Equality, brought together same-sex marriage supporters from around California on Saturday, May 30. While police estimated the crowd outside Fresno City Hall at between 2,000 and 3,000, organizers of the event placed the crowd at between 4,000 and 5,000, said Jon Carroll, a gay Fresno resident.

"It's one of the largest demonstrations in Fresno," Carroll told the Bay Area Reporter.

Lieutenant Dan Choi, who was recently discharged from the Army National Guard under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, was one of about 40 speakers at the rally.

Choi repeated the famous lines from President John F. Kennedy's speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

"I'm not asking anymore! I'm telling! I'm telling!" Choi yelled.

"We're done asking, we're telling! Tell with me!" he shouted, to some of the day's wildest cheers. "Let's tell, let's never stop telling!"

See Marriage advocates 'Meet in the Middle' Bay Area Reporter

'The Mormons Are Coming!'

LOS ANGELES -- As more states take up the debate on same-sex marriage, some advocates of legalization are taking a very specific lesson from California, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dominated both fundraising and door-knocking to pass a ballot initiative that barred such unions.
With the battle moving east, some advocates are shouting that fact in the streets, calculating that on an issue that eventually comes down to comfort levels, more people harbor apprehensions about Mormons than about homosexuality.
"The Mormons are coming! The Mormons are coming!" warned ads placed on newspaper Web sites in three Eastern states last month. The ad was rejected by sites in three other states, including Maine, where the Kennebec Journal informed Californians Against Hate that the copy "borders on insulting and denigrating a whole set of people based on their religion."
"I'm not intending it to harm the religion. I think they do wonderful things. Nicest people," said Fred Karger, a former Republican campaign consultant who established Californians Against Hate. "My single goal is to get them out of the same-sex marriage business and back to helping hurricane victims." See 'The Mormons Are Coming!'
Washington Post

California's Supreme Court ruling didn't invalidate my marriage. But that still doesn't mean I feel truly married.

My husband and I are lucky. We're one of the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who get to keep our Californiamarriage certificate after the state Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved ballot measure restricting the state's marriage rights to heterosexual couples. But as the San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Egelko wrote: "The justices ruled unanimously that Prop 8 was not retroactive and that gay and lesbian couples who relied on the court's May 2008 ruling to get married before the Nov. 4 election will remain legally wed."

I trekked from Seattle to Los Angeles with my guy of seven years to tie the knot in September 2008. We did this because we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together, but also because we really wanted to see Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, which began its pre-Broadway run in L.A. soon after the state approved same-sex marriage. "It's a sign from God," joked Jake as we set about planning "the gayest weekend ever!"—an event that might've stayed awash in wryness if not for our parents, both sets of which greeted news of our upcoming nuptials by hopping on cross-country flights to join us for an impromptu Beverly Hills wedding dinner, where between the fully legal license on the table and the teary-eyed toasts from our fathers, Jake and I came to understand that we were actually truly, finally married.

Then came November and the passage of Prop 8—a surprise that stung, of course, but all hurt and disappointment was overridden by the outpouring of support that followed. Watching crowds across the nation protesting the measure, fielding phone calls from sorrowful friends and relatives (some of them beside themselves with indignation), I realized that marriage equality had made the long-awaited leap from fringe concern to mainstream civil-rights issue, with Prop 8 galvanizing a common-sense empathy among equality-cherishing Americans that was—and is—thrilling to behold.

But Prop 8 also came with messy personal ramifications, due to Jake's family's lifelong relationship with the Mormon church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' involvement in the passage of Prop 8 is well documented: Current figures put the Church's pro–Prop 8 donations at $190,000, with an additional $2.7 million coming from individual Utahans (of which 60 percent are Mormon). These facts were supplemented by tales from Jake's relatives, some of whom had received home visits from church leaders, who'd calculated a "suggested Prop 8 donation" based on the family's annual tithing (which, as good Mormons know, constitutes 10 percent of a family's gross income). For Jake's mother and father, such iffy maneuvers constituted not just a troubling use of church influence but also an active attack on their son, and the church's insistent support of Prop 8 ultimately forced them to make one of the most difficult decisions of their lives: Did they want to be good Mormons, or good parents?
See The 'Lucky' Ones Newsweek

How Far Will Mormons Go to Fight Gay Marriage?

By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
If a gay marriage question is put on the California ballot in 2010, it will put the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at a seriously interesting crossroads.
It has been three or four decades since the Mormon Church chose a low profile in American politics, after its opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, and theological hostility to black Americans, spurred an anti-Mormon backlash. The Mormons are among the most persecuted of American sects, and highly sensitive to criticism.
The church's low-key strategy seemed to work. There are still some Mormon-haters in evangelical Christian circles, but for the most part the Mormons are accepted and admired, and church membership has soared. Mormon politicians like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman are regarded by mainstream America as legitimate presidential timber.
Mormon watchers were surprised, then, when the church hierarchy took such an active role in the passage of Proposition 8 in California, limiting marriage to a man and a woman. Gay Americans were surprised as well. They didn't expect the church to embrace gay marriage, but neither did they predict that the Mormon Church would emerge as a resolute and politically-active foe, whose support for Prop 8 was perhaps determinative. Some of the resultant anti-Mormon rhetoric has been vicious.
Now that Prop 8 has been upheld by the California Supreme Court, gay rights groups say they will put gay marriage on the ballot in California again, and mount a full scale effort to win public approval, perhaps as soon as 2010.
That will put the ball back in the church's court. The family is at the center of Mormon theology. But the national political trends are running against the church. Younger Americans—even young evangelicals—are more than willing to see their gay friends get married.
Opposing gay marriage in Utah (as the church did in 2004) is one thing, but taking a lead public role in a national campaign to deprive a persecuted minority of a right shared by all other Americans is another. It would be seen as a sign that the days of low-key tactics are over, and that the current Mormon leaders are prepared to give, and get, the political bruising that occurs when religion mixes with politics in America. See How Far Will Mormons Go to Fight Gay Marriage? U.S. News & World Report

Backers of gay marriage trumpet the Mormon church's work against it

Los Angeles » As more states take up the debate on same-sex marriage, some advocates of legalization are taking a very specific lesson from California, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dominated both fundraising and door-knocking to pass a ballot initiative that barred such unions.
With the battle moving east, some advocates are shouting that fact in the streets, calculating that on an issue that eventually comes down to comfort levels, more people harbor apprehensions about Mormons than about homosexuality.
"The Mormons are coming! The Mormons are coming!" warned ads placed on newspaper Web sites in three Eastern states last month. The ad was rejected by sites in three other states, including Maine, where the Kennebec Journal informed Californians Against Hate that the copy "borders on insulting and denigrating a whole set of people based on their religion."
"I'm not intending it to harm the religion. I think they do wonderful things. Nicest people," said Fred Karger, a former Republican campaign consultant who established Californians Against Hate. "My single goal is to get them out of the same-sex marriage business and back to helping hurricane victims."
The strategy carries risks for a movement grounded in the concept of tolerance. But the demographics tempt proponents of same-sex marriage: See Backers of gay marriage trumpet the Mormon church's work against it Salt Lake Tribune

Conservative activists turn to web for traction; denounce gay marriage

Two days after California’s Supreme Court upheld a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriages, conservative activists launched a multimedia campaign warning that “legalizing gay marriage has consequences for kids.” The newest advertisement from the National Organization for Marriage is aimed at voters in New York, where a same-sex marriage bill recently passed through the state assembly. (The legislation faces an uncertain future in the state senate.)
In the 30 second spot, a man with a Southern accent launches into a litany of grievances– “Massachusetts schools teach second graders that boys can marry other boys,” etc. – while an ominous score plays in the background. A handful of newspaper clippings flicker by, before the narrator adds, “And it’s not just kids who face consequences. The rights of people who believe marriage means a man and a woman will no longer matter. We’ll have to accept gay marriage whether we like it or not.”
Oops
The spot, which NOM will feature prominently on its YouTube channel, was designed to stir up support among conservatives across the country. But for an ad about education, NOM sure did make a monster error in the video’s final frame. Today, goodasyou.org, a gay news blog, pointed out that the word “marriage” was spelled by NOM as “marraige.”
After posting a screen shot of the misspelling, Good As You couldn’t resist a little jab at NOM. “And we’re the ones who threaten school kids?!?!” one of the site’s bloggers wrote. See Conservative activists turn to web for traction; denounce gay ... Christian Science Monitor

Gay marriage finds a supporter in a state education official

An issue that dominated California’s Prop 8 battles is reappearing in New York: whether legalizing gay marriage will have an effect on what children are taught in schools.
In an ad campaign by the Empire State Pride Agenda, a pro-gay marriage group, State Deputy Secretary for Education Duffy Palmer assures people that should marriage equality legislation pass, New York teachers would not be forced to teach children about gay marriage.

An issue that dominated California’s Prop 8 battles is reappearing in New York: whether legalizing gay marriage will have an effect on what children are taught in schools.

In an ad campaign by the Empire State Pride Agenda, a pro-gay marriage group, State Deputy Secretary for Education Duffy Palmer assures people that should marriage equality legislation pass, New York teachers would not be forced to teach children about gay marriage.



See Gay marriage finds a supporter in a state education official
GothamSchools

New Hampshire is sixth US state to allow gay marriage

New Hampshire on Wednesday became the sixth US state to allow gay marriage after the Democratic governor signed a bill on same-sex unions.
Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, signed the bill shortly after legislators in the northeastern state approved the measure, his spokesman Colin Manning said.
The lower house passed the bill earlier Wednesday by a simple majority. The upper house has already passed the same draft law.
Lynch had indicated he would give his signature provided there was protection for the rights of religious groups opposing gay marriage, something legislators said is achieved in the bill.
In a statement after the vote, the lower house said the bill "distinguishes between civil and religious marriage and says that any two individuals have a right to a civil marriage. It also leaves it up to each religion whether to recognize and officiate over same-sex marriages."
In April after a vote in the state senate, Lynch had said he recognized the issue was "intensely passionate and personal, and raises strong emotions on all sides."
Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont allow gay marriage. New York's state lower house has approved a bill proposed by Governor David Paterson and the upper house is considering the issue. See New Hampshire is sixth US state to allow gay marriage
AFP

Gay Marriage in the Midwest

We used to be the shizzle. Remember? For decades, California was the nation's pacesetter. The birthplace of Barbie, blue jeans, and the birth control pill, the Golden State prided itself on dragging the rest of the nation into tomorrow. Or, at the very least, into Tomorrowland.
Faced with decisions like, "Shall we elect a glute-flexing cyborg as governor?" and "Should we light up the country's first medical marijuana initiative?" we grinned our laidback grins, sipped our Left Coast syrah, and said, "Sure! Why not?"

Starshine Roshell
We were the heralds of "hot." The harbingers of "hip." But no more.
Last week, our high court handed that mantle over to a pot-bellied, farm-belt state called Iowa. Perhaps you've heard of it. Whereas California's Supreme Court voted to uphold a ban on gay marriage, Iowa has been marrying gays since April.
They're not the only ones. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont have given their blessings to gay nuptials, too.
But Iowa? The court's decision was unanimous, and emphatic. Stephen Colbert joked that the ruling makes sense. "There's nothing else to do in Iowa: shuck corn, drag race, pound a sixer, shuck more corn, propose to your football coach."
In fact, Iowa has a long history of defending equality. It desegregated its schools almost a century before 1954's landmark Brown v. Board of Education, and was one of the first states to permit interracial marriage. All of which confirms that California is now humiliatingly bass-ackward. And the heartland prairie that is Iowa—origin of the Winnebago—is wicked cool.
"They have those covered bridges!" says my friend Alex Kuisis, who drove through the state once. "And Amish people! Who isn't fascinated by Amish people?"
I went looking for more evidence that Iowa rocks. See Gay Marriage in the Midwest
The Santa Barbara Independent

Christian Clergy Rally on Opposite Sides of Gay Marriage Debate

Less than a week after a group of clergy and Christians asked for a referendum to keep same-sex marriages from being recognized in the nation's capital, another coalition of clergy has declared support for "marriage equality."
"We declare that our faith calls us to affirm marriage equality for loving, same-sex couples," said the Rev. Dennis Wiley, pastor of Covenant Baptist Church, at a gathering on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.
Wiley is among more than 100 clergy from various faiths who launched a declaration, affirming same-sex marriage as "holy and good."
"Our religious traditions and scriptures teach us that wherever love is present, God is also present," the coalition, called D.C. Clergy United for Marriage and Equality, states. "We therefore affirm the right of loving same-gender couples to enter into such relationships on an equal basis with loving heterosexual couples."
Last month, the Washington, D.C. Council voted 12-1 to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. The legislation heads to Congress for approval and some council members are expected to introduce a bill to allow gays and lesbians to marry in the District.
In stark contrast to the interfaith group, conservative clergy have made public cries, committing themselves to fight any attempts to redefine marriage. See Christian Clergy Rally on Opposite Sides of Gay Marriage Debate
Christian Post

Atlanta gays rally against California ruling

Rob Calhoun met his future husband nearly 20 years ago protesting a regional restaurant chain that required its employees to demonstrate “normal heterosexual values.”

“We’ve made a lot of progess since then,” said the Avondale Estates father, who married Clay Calhoun in Massachusetts several years ago. “But we’ve got a long ways to go.” The couple — with their two young children in tow — were among the roughly 100 people rallying at Piedmont Park Tuesday night in opposition to the California Supreme Court’s ruling that upheld the state’s gay marriage ban.

“It’s demoralizing but in the bigger picture we’re winning,” said Rob Calhoun, who remains confident same-sex marriage will one day be codified nationwide (inGeorgia, same-sex marriages are not legal).
“I just hope our kids won’t be adults when it happens,” he said.
In this battle momentum has proven elusive. As Clay Calhoun said, “We take one step forward then two steps back.”
Last month, for example, Iowa’s Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, leading one conservative opponent to tell the Associated Press, “I would say the mood is one of mourning right now.”
The mood changed on Tuesday.
The executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, which supports Proposition 8, said in a statement, “The 7 million Californians who worked hard to protect marriage as the union of husband and wife are breathing easier today.”
For opponents of the 2008 ballot initiative, a new strategy is sought.

See Atlanta gays rally against California ruling
Atlanta Journal Constitution -

Residents say city's support for Proposition 8 hurting them

Porterville, a small Central Valley town, was the only city in California to formally endorse Proposition 8, the measure that banned gay marriage in California.
But now, some residents want the City Council to reverse course, arguing the endorsement has inflamed tension in Porterville.
The mayor isn't backing down, and it's possible Porterville will take a stand if gay marriage supporters place a measure on the ballot attempting to repeal. According to ABC30, residents spoke out at a council meeting this week:
The Porterville City Council got an earful from residents who said the council's public support of Prop 8, hurt them. Jamie Garza and her wife say the council's action was like declaring open season on gays in Porterville. They suffered verbal assaults, and tire slashing. John Coffee and his husband said harassment and intimidation have increased because of the council's vote. Pediatrician, Dr. Katherine Hall said the council's action was psychologically damaging to young gay people who already feel alienated. See Residents say city's support for Proposition 8 hurting them
Los Angeles Times