An update titled "60 hours left to decide Prop 8's fate" was released today from the Courage Campaign on its goal to raise $100,000 by August 13 in order to test ballot language for a 2010 campaign.
Over the weekend, the call for repealing Prop 8 in 2010 grew louder in the grassroots. At the request of the Courage Campaign, Steve Hildebrand -- former deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama's presidential campaign -- spoke to a large gathering of marriage equality activists on Sunday in Los Angeles and said the following:
"I'd rather have your odds than the odds we had with the Obama campaign. Think about that... This community has to show the kind of courage that it has if you're going to go in 2010... If you go in 2010 -- and my outside perspective is that you should -- you've got to go in with all guns blazing."
Since we sent you the urgent message below, 1,027 members of the Courage Campaign community have raised $58,033 -- an average of $56.51 per person. And other grassroots organizations like Marriage Equality USA and Meet in the Middle have joined us as well, challenging their members to step up and help finance the research necessary to place an initiative on the 2010 ballot.
If 1,000 more people can raise $41,967 by August 13, we will meet the time-sensitive $100,000 goal we set for the Courage Campaign community -- and half of the $200,000 needed to launch this mission-critical research as soon as possible.
We have less than 60 hours to raise $41,967 from Courage members. Will you help us get over the top by donating whatever amount you can afford -- $25, $50, $100, $500 or more -- by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday? Please make a contribution before time runs out.
Many are keeping a sharp eye on the LGBT community's ability to raise funds for this first step towards a 2010 campaign. EQCA is expected to announce tomorrow its roadmap and timeline to bring marriage equality back to California, and it is expected that they will support a 2012 campaign.
Unite the Fight will continue to report on both Courage Campaign's progress as well as have a full report on EQCA's timeline tomorrow.
Equality California and the Jordan Rustin Coalition are teaming up to work for marriage equality, and together are opeingn a fully staffed office in the heart of the Black community in South Los Angeles. The staff there will work to expand their coalition with local community groups and recruit volunteers to talk face-to-face with Californians who do not yet support our equality.
Together, they debuted this new PSA featuring Xavier and Michael Boykin-Haggood and their children who live in Los Angeles' Leimert Park neighborhood.
Unite the Fight interviews Equality California's new Marriage Director, Marc Solomon, about the next campaign to repeal Prop 8, most likely in 2010. Marc recently moved to California after helping Massachusetts win marriage equality back in 2004.
Married couple Molly McKay and Davina Kotulski from Marriage Equality USA talk about the Get Engaged Tour, a statewide tour hosting 80 town halls that will present the results of the largest marriage equality polling conducted in California. It will ask the community for feedback and how to proceed for the next campaign to repeal Prop 8.
Equality California (EQCA) announced yesterday its new campaign Win Marriage Back. Make It Real!, their first public step in joining the grassroots in laying the groundwork for a new campaign to repeal Prop 8 if the California Supreme Court rules to uphold it.
Just this past weekend, the Courage Campaign announced its support for a 2010 initiative, and now with the EQCA joining in on the call, these two organizations among many other grassroots groups have given a solid signal to California that marriage equality will beckoning the state once again. And soon. On a phone call with donors today, EQCA's new Marriage Director Marc Solomon and Executive Director Geoff Kors said their new campaign push will be two-fold. First, joining in the grassroots efforts in community organizing, and second, telling the stories of LGBT families who were adversely affected by Prop 8, the lack of which was a major criticism of the No on 8 campaign in which EQCA was major player.
The first point will be met by hiring 25 field organizers in all parts of the state to reach out to their communities and neighborhoods. In the call, a reference was made to Courage Campaign's amazing Camp Courage, a two-day training event designed to teach the principals and skills of community organizing to activists working to restore marriage equality in California. Courage Campaign has invested over a $100,000 in these camps, raised by on-line matching grant donations from the Dolby Family among others.
EQCA will be relying heavily on the hundreds of camp graduates. The camps have so far been held in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego, Oakland and coming up soon in Sacramento and East LA, all areas that EQCA plans to do outreach.
Graduates of the camps have set up successful Equality Teams throughout the state that engage the electorate in phonebanking, canvassing and more, with voter information provided to them through the Courage Campaign's Equality Hub. This giving away of information has been hailed as unprecedented because it gives anyone who wants to make a difference for equality in their own area the chance to succeed.
EQCA plans to contribute to the canvassing efforts starting this weekend with a goal of reaching 45,000 doors in 100 days. With the resulting information that is gathered, it will be used alongside other grassroots organizations, such as canvassing experts Marriage Equality USA, to build a stronger campaign.
The second point of the new push are two new tv ads that feature LGBT families. Having heard the sharp criticisms of the No on 8 campaign's refusal to show the faces of the LGBT population and its variety, and seeing how successful the Courage Campaign's record-breaking video, "Fidelity, Don't Divorce Us" has been, EQCA will be releasing their own ads on TV this weekend.
EQCA working alongside grassroots is a remarkable change since the No on 8 campaign during which the grassroots felt shut out. The failure of the campaign woke a sleeping giant throughout the nation, but particularly in California, displayed prominently in the massive rallies and protests that followed.
Even more remarkable is that EQCA, along with Courage Campaign, Marriage Equality USA, FAIR, Equal Roots and more, have all chipped in together on the costs of polling, and with the resulting information, all groups will be armed to work together on the new initiative campaign if needed.
Since the November election, the grassroots has grown stronger and more organized, its full force to be seen on the Saturday following the Supreme Court's ruling on Prop 8. Win or lose, thousands will Meet in the Middle in Fresno, CA, the heart of Yes on 8 territory, not only to show numbers, but to stand in solidarity for equality for all.
Just recently, academy award winning actress Charlize Theron issued a letter through the Courage Campaign, urging everyone, especially straight allies, to show support by meeting in Fresno.
EQCA has taken its cue from such organizing. Despite some growing pains in working alongside the grassroots, they will be showing their support by appearing at Meet in the Middle, an event that is sure to launch either a statewide effort to repeal Prop 8 if its upheld, or a nationwide movement for LGBT equality if Prop 8 is thrown out.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and lead counsel for same-sex couples and Equality California in Strauss v. Horton, the challenge to Proposition 8 currently pending before the California Supreme Court, wrote a guest post on Bilerico Project about the implications of the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage for California's own high court.
Excerpts:
. . .the Iowa court repeatedly underscored that equal protection is one of the "basic principles essential to our form of government," part of our very "blueprint for government," essential to the continued existence of "our republican form of government and our freedoms," and the foundation of "the rule of law." That is the centerpiece of our argument in the Prop 8 case. What is at stake in the Prop 8 case is not just marriage for same-sex couples, but the foundational principle that all people are entitled to equal protection of the laws.
Today's decision from Iowa strongly reinforces that the California Supreme Court must not permit a simple majority of voters to jettison that defining hallmark of our government by eliminating a right only for an unpopular minority. . .
Especially in light of today's decision, it would tarnish the California Supreme Court's credibility and stature for the court to back away from its prior decision and pretend that Proposition 8 does not relegate same-sex couples and their children to a second-class status. Proposition 8 installs an invidious inequality in the heart of the California Constitution. There is no principled way for the California Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8 without compromising its prior decision in the Marriage Cases and causing grievous and unjust harm to an entire class of California families.
This is a defining moment for our state and for the California Supreme Court. The Court's decision in the Prop 8 challenge will either reaffirm the centrality of equality in our constitutional system, or it will hold, for the first time in our state's history, that a simple majority can amend the constitution to impose inequality on an unpopular minority.
Want to get involved in hands-on actions? Interact with voters by canvassing and phone banking to explain why they should support LGBT rights? Then check out Vote for Equality. See how you can get involved by reading their flyer below.
Two weeks before the CA Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Prop 8, gay rights activists are making sure their collective voice is heard early, descending upon the state capitol today by the thousands.
Together they're focusing on their goal to win the support of lawmakers for the resolution that invalidates Prop 8 because it " is an improper revision, not an amendment, of the California Constitution."
The latest news is reporting that HR5, the house version, has passed. It was written by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and state Sen. Mark Leno, both San Francisco Democrats.
Equality California is a major sponsor of lobby day with a rally scheduled at noon.
Equality California is asking us to counter the numerous phone calls that are flooding California's Capitol from the anti-equality groups who are opposing the two resolutions that would put it on record that the Legislature would support overturning Prop 8. They are demanding members of the Senate and Assembly Judiciary committees to not vote in favor of these resolutions.
Our strong support for equality cannot go unheard, and EQCA is asking we IMMEDIATELY contact the legislators who have supported LGBT equality in the past. Here is the sample script and contact information EQCA has provided.
Sample Script
Thank you for past support for equality. My name is [Your Name] and I am calling to ask for you to vote in favor of SR 7 / HR 5 because Prop 8 is a drastic and radical revision to the California Constitution that puts all Californians at risk. I believe in equal protection under the law and do not want a simple majority of voters to be able to take fundamental rights away from any minority.
Thank you. [Your Name]
If you live in Northern California, please call:
Senate Judiciary Committee members (for SR 7)
* Senator Ellen Corbett, chair: (916) 651-4010 * Senator Dean Florez: (916) 651-4016
Assembly Judiciary Committee members (for HR 5)
* Assembly Member Noreen Evans: (916) 319-2007
If you like in the Central Valley, please call:
Senate Judiciary Committee members (for SR 7)
* Senator Ellen Corbett, chair: (916) 651-4010 * Senator Dean Florez: (916) 651-4016
Assembly Judiciary Committee members (for HR 5)
* Assembly Member Dave Jones: (916) 319-2009 * Assembly Member William W. Monning: (916) 319-2027
If you live in Southern California, please call:
Assembly Judiciary Committee members (for HR 5)
* Assembly Member Mike Feuer, chair: (916) 319-2042 * Assembly Member Julia Brownley: (916) 319-2041 * Assembly Member Paul Krekorian: (916) 319-2043 * Assembly Member Ted W. Lieu: (916) 319-2053
Equality California's Equality Summit was defined as "a gathering of community leaders committed to winning back marriage equality in California to network, share information and resources, and plan next steps" on the organization's page, and though EQCA obviously spent a lot of time tailoring an agenda to meet this definition, the many grassroots organizations that attended had other agendas in mind. One in particular: holding the leaders accountable for the failure of the No on 8 campaign.
After a peaceful invocation by Rabbi Denise Eger and Rev. Jonipher Kwong, the latter cracking the smart joke that he didn't need to define invocation after what happened with Rick Warren, the light mood quietly turned sour as the staff and Executive Committee of the failed campaign took the stage. (Panel: Chad Griffin of Griffin-Schake; Yvette Martinez, political director; Sarah Reece of the TASK Force; Kate Kendall, Executive Director National Center for Lesbian Rights; Geoff Kors, Executive Director Equality California; Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center; Chris Maliwat, the campaign's web strategy director who came late in the game - others listed were Julie Davis, Delores Jacobs and Marty Rouse who were not on the stage.)
After perfunctory summaries told by rote from the panel about what happened and what "might've" gone wrong, nothing that hadn't been heard before, a half hour had gone by and attendees were getting fed up and the tension was palpable. One note to mention was Chris Maliwat, who began his portion by saying he didn't begin his job until five weeks before the election and he was just a volunteer. Of course, this illicited shouted responses from the attendees as to why the committee had waited so long to put together the essential web campaign. It's no secret that the No on 8 website was a disastrous failure.
Lorri Jean responded that the campaign had essentially begun in 2005, and after the initial launch and death of the original site, by the time they really needed to relaunch, the money had dried up. They also said they used Black Rock, who they weren't happy with.
The room really began to sizzle when Marriage Equality USA's Molly McKay and Pamela Brown took the stage, issuing an in-depth report with a power point presentation on the mistakes of the campaign, citing information that their organization knew before the election and that had been ignored by the campaign's executive committee, and what needed to be done next. (The reports can be found on the organization's home page) They really drove it home and received a standing ovation afterward.
Many at this point wanted to hold the Q&A, interrupting the moderator with their demands, but David Binder of David Binder Research, presented his statistics on Proposition 8 Post-Election California Survey, an in-depth report that EQCA said will be posted on their site soon.
So when a Q&A finally came up, it was pretty brutal. The event planners collected the questions on 3x5 cards and "organized them by topic." This section was moderated by Karen Ocamb, news editor of IN Los Angeles Magazine. Though she tried to begin by having each panelist member answer what went right and wrong with the campaign, and how to heal the rift between leaders and grassroots, the attendees became extremely vocal in overruling her, pressing for their questions to be answered.
With neutral questions handpicked from the submitted cards being asked (such as comparing stats on those who voted for Obama and those who voted "No"), the attendees started speaking up, asking follow-up questions and not heeding the moderator. At one point, one of the event organizers grabbed a mike and said, "These people worked long and hard on the campaign. They did the best they could!" She got a standing ovation from another part of the crowd, but many people stayed seated.
Robin Tyler, activist and one-half of one of the couples who fought in the courts for the right to marry, even had to stand up at one point and said, "Hey, we're all on the same side. We have to work together now." Lori Jean later in the session grabbed the mike said, "Hey, there were other people involved in the campaign as well. It wasn't just us!" (She was referring to Geoff Kors) She went on to mention that they had at least showed up to talk about the campaign.
Karen, the moderator, did push for answers on using gay consultants for the campaign, and not handing it off to straight, professional political consultants who didn't understand the LGBT lifestyle. Lori Jean fumbled a bit, trying to find words to answer this question, agreeing that it was a mistake to hand everything over to the consultants and trusting them for the results. She added, "There were no LGBT consultants available." Someone cracked that they didn't even know they exist, and Karen quickly mentioned David Mixner. They didn't have a response. Geoff Korrs echoed Lori Jean, saying instead of the consultants, "It should've been us because it's about our lives." He says he lies awake at night thinking about it.
Another mistake was admitted by Yvette Martinez when she said that the campaign headquarters should've been in Los Angeles. This was met with applause.
It was a feat barely accomplished by the moderators to move on. Assemblymember Tom Ammiano spoke quickly but with great humor, quipping, "Thank you for not throwing a high heel at the panel."
He was followed by Eva Paterson of the Equal Justice Society. Equally funny (she admitted to being extremely nervous about the tough crowd) but full of great insight, she talked about what it was like to be straight and black after the election. With the immediate exit polls saying that 70% of the African American community voted for Prop 8 (which was later disputed to be around 58%), she said she would get hateful glances from gays and "felt for a nanosecond what it was like to be a progressive white" after a discriminatory initiative passed against African Americans. "That quickly passed," she joked.
Her speech focused on trying to reveal why African Americans, especially church going members, voted the way they did. Reminding the crowd that a perversion of Christianity was once used to legitimize slavery, people still actually believe that gay people are going to hell, and after hearing time after time from the pulpit that gays are abominations, it's not hard to understand why they voted the way they did.
Eva opened her speech by repeating what Rev. Kwong did during his invocation - holding a minute of meditative silence to bring back the peace and calm to the group in order to focus on unity.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. Half the attendees disappeared at the lunch break.
REMINDER: You MUST register TODAY to be able to attend the Equality Summit. See post below for details.
Equality California will be hosting an Equality Summit on January 24th, 2009 at the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center (for more information such as maps and times, go to the calendar at the bottom of the blog).
Described as "a gathering of community leaders committed to winning back marriage equality in California to network, share information and resources, and plan next steps," the summit is quickly filling up in space capacity.
There has been confusion surrounding how to sign up for the event - A SIMPLE RSVP EMAIL IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO ATTEND. You must register for the event here. The deadline for registration no later than Tuesday, January 20th.
Urge Your Representatives to Support the Invalidation of Prop 8.
The proponents of Prop 8 usurped the role of the Legislature by putting the right for same-sex couples to marry directly on the ballot.
Two Equality California-sponsored resolutions introduced today will make it official state policy, when they are approved by the Legislature, that Prop 8 should be overturned. Write your legislators now to urge them to support the invalidation of Prop 8 and vote for Leno's Senate Resolution 7 and Ammiano's Assembly Resolution (number to be assigned).
Prop 8 eliminates the fundamental right to marry and allows a slim majority to take away the equal protections of a minority, which violates one of the founding principles of our Constitution. The resolutions state the measure should have been approved by a two-thirds vote in the Legislature before going to voters. Urge your representatives to support these resolutions.
On December 19, proponents of Prop 8 will file their briefs with the California Supreme Court.
EQCA will do its part to make sure we have broad support for these resolutions. But we need you to do yours.
So, ask everyone you know to write their representative by going here by December 19.
Ask your friends and family join you. California lawmakers need to hear from you—their constituents—that our state should be a state of hope, prosperity and equality for all.
Posts
An update titled "60 hours left to decide Prop 8's fate" was released today from the Courage Campaign on its goal to raise $100,000 by August 13 in order to test ballot language for a 2010 campaign.
