Official Campaign Website for 2010 Prop 8 Repeal Launched; Town Halls to Be Held for Statewide Campaign Council Elections

The California Coalition for Marriage Equality, the organizations and individuals in support of restoring marriage equality to California in 2010, have launched their new website "RestoreEquality2010.com, The Official Home of the Campaign to Repeal Prop 8 in 2010."

At the beginning of the month, the coalition met in San Francisco and in the meeting, decided on a plan to break California down into 10 regions that will have representatives who will then inform a statewide council working on the signature gathering campaign and possibly a 2010 campaign itself.

Los Angeles will be holding its town hall to elect representatives Sunday, September 20.


Find out when your region will be holding its town hall at Restore Equality 2010. These town halls are being organized by the Interim Administrative Group (IAG), a group chosen from the San Francisco meeting. You can contact them here with questions and concerns.

Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager to Attend Sunday's "Next Steps Summit"; Tentative Agenda Released

"We are not Frankenstein, lurching toward the finish line no matter what," Jordan Krueger of Equality Network and of the Next Steps Summit logistics team told Unite the Fight.

The Coalition for 2010 (formerly known as the Coalition of the Willing) will be hosting a Next Steps Summit August 9 in South Los Angeles, where they hope action items will be confirmed in order to move the California LGBT population forward in getting an initiative on the ballot to end Prop 8's rule.

On Saturday it was confirmed that Obama's national deputy campaign manager, openly gay Steve Hildrebrand, will appear and inform the process at the summit. Hildebrand's extensive knowledge and key role in the largest and most successful grassroots campaign in our nation's history, will add an element of expertise not easily ignored by either side of the 2010 or 2012 debate. The number of attendees on both sides of the issue are likely to increase, especially given Hildebrand's appearance and that this summit's focus will be action points and "deliverables."

However, many in the community are still concerned about the coalition's focus on 2010 and how that may skew the summit. "We want everyone there. We need to hear their concerns," Jordan responded. "There's only so much we can do if they're not willing to attend."

I asked about the agenda since many are still not clear on what will happen at the summit. Jordan gave me a tentative agenda that he says was 90% confirmed. A final agenda will be released early this week.

AGENDA

Morning: Key notes and panel discussion, including Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy national campaign manager. Q&A session. (This will last about an hour and fifteen minutes. I don't have time breakdowns for the rest.)

Breakout Sessions (Subject to change, and this does not reflect all sessions but just a few.)

• Signature gathering
• Ballot language
• Fund-raising
• Outreach and Relationship Building
• Messaging
  

Attendees can call out ad hoc sessions if need comes up. Groups will come back and report on decisions and next steps to all.

WORKING LUNCH

Second breakout for sessions, but these will be different from first break out.

Report back again with decisions and next steps.

Closing

Happy Hour

After going over the agenda with Jordan, I raised concerns about certain topics being discussed and next steps decided upon in break out sessions, such as the ballot language and messaging, which requires lots of expertise and knowledge of the political campaign process, assets many in the community lack, including yours truly.

"It's our desire to have experts in the break out groups, but they will not facilitate," Jordan said. "Let's all come to a consensus together instead of having the experts say this is how it should be."

When it comes to ballot language, objections have been raised. If the language isn't legally solid, it can open the door to many lawsuits from the opposition trying to undo any initiative that we work really hard to pass.

At the Leadership Summit in San Bernardino, it was requested that all cameras be turned off and that the press either leave or consider the conversation "off the record" when the topic of ballot language came up. That's how sensitive and essential ballot language can be. Give the opposition any hints on what you come up with and you give them immediate ammunition to undo your work. On top of that, the specifics of whether or not to include the issue of school curriculum in regards to marriage equality is a gray area for many in the community.

"Everyone is in agreement that there has to be testing" of ballot language, Jordan said. "There is an understanding of significant cost to testing and that will be brought up for discussion at the summit. We understand it is critical to going back to the ballot."

According to the organizers, tickets are going fast, and it will be interesting to see who shows given that the Next Steps Summit has been viewed as vital yet possibly premature given that the community has not come to a consensus on timing.

Even Torie Osborne, who in May came out strong for 2010 at a Courage Campaign's Camp Courage, told reporter Karen Ocamb she's changed her mind.

“As time ticks by, it seems less likely that we will go to the ballot in 2010 and I'm fine with that,” Osborn wrote in an email to Karen Ocamb for a Frontiers in L.A. article. “The vision and movement that is built is as important as when we win, as the state's challenges require us to all step up in new and powerful ways. If ‘Spawn of Prop187’ [a previous anti-immigrant initiative] qualifies in 2010, that can become our unified battle, and we will all need to join together and lay in place the organizing networks that can lead us to victory in future years on marriage equality.”

However, Courage Campaign's Rick Jacobs has reiterated his support for 2010. “Our members are ready to do the hard work needed to win.”

Equality California's Geoff Korrs announced at the Equality Awards Dinner on Saturday night that the organization will come to a decision on next steps this week after its board meeting Sunday, a statement that Marc Solomon, EQCA's Marriage Director confirmed with Unite the Fight at the event. Many believe though the organization should listen to its members, who were polled with a majority supporting 2010. There's also been talk that EQCA's board is divided on the issue.

The Coalition for 2010 has shifted its tone since the day of the San Bernardino summit. They express a desire for all to be involved, even those who don't agree with them on timing. Their focus is to get the work started, and get it done as soon and as efficiently as possible.

In an email sent out to its members Sunday, Love Honor Cherish, the grassroots group who has strongly supported 2010 since Prop 8's passing, wrote, "Everyone dedicated to working for marriage equality is invited, particularly those who have expressed reservations about a 2010 campaign. These concerns are legitimate and important, and any planning for a future campaign must take them into account to ensure our chances of winning."

"We want people to be there to give input on benchmarks," Jordan told Unite the Fight, saying that those who support 2012 will bring vital input to the process. "This is not a sit and listen summit."

"There is an awareness," he added. "If 2010 turns out not to be possible, then based on benchmarks set on August 9th, we will consider how to proceed."

If those in support for 2012 want input on those benchmarks, then I highly recommend you attend.

Get information and tickets.

(Note: Unite the Fight, along with the organizers, is looking into streaming this event if possible based upon technical capabilities as well as sensitive information discussed at the summit.)

Image: By BlueCinema

Coalition for 2010 Plan 'Next Steps Summit' to Move Forward on Ballot Initiative

The Coalition for 2010, formerly known as the Coalition of the Willing which sprung from the Leadership Summit in San Bernardino, will be hosting a "Next Steps Summit" on August 9 in South Los Angeles. At the summit, they plan to discuss actual actions to move forward for a 2010 ballot initiative to undo Prop 8's damage.

On the reservation page, the group states the event will be goal oriented, and will create task forces on the following topics:

• Ballot language: we intend to decide on a few options, and plan polling/testing of the options.
• Fundraising: we'll form a committee to begin the fundraising process, especially in the small-donor arena as we begin.
• Signature gathering logistics: we'll talk about deadlines and auditing to create a workable road map for success within the narrow window required to gather 1,000,000 names.
• Messaging: we'll brainstorm messaging for many different communities to ensure that signature gatherers are armed with appropriate responses to questions about this repeal effort.
• Technology: we'll start a wish list for what we want to see in a technology solution to help us carry-out this campaign. This list will then be the starting point for a design team.

Tomorrow, I will have more information as the group is still developing the agenda, but concerns about these goals have already been raised by those who are wary of returning to the ballot in 2010 and others question whether or not having this summit will help unite the already divided California LGBT population.

However, Jordan Krueger of Equality Network, who is working on logistics, told Unite the Fight, "The agenda for the Next Steps Summit will be provided ahead of time, and the Summit will be planned in a way that will be open and participatory with room for debate and discussion."

This echoes the open letter to the LGBT community that the coalition issued, part of which says:

"While it’s no secret that not everyone agrees on when to proceed with a ballot initiative, everyone does agree that the work must be happening now. That work is to change hearts and minds and it must be done whether we are in a campaign for 2010 or later. Since we all share the goal of complete equality for LGBT people, there is much we can do together.

"At the meeting, we will be doing in-depth planning for all aspects of what needs to occur between now and qualifying a ballot measure. Everyone dedicated to working for marriage equality is invited, particularly those who have expressed reservations about a 2010 campaign. These concerns are legitimate and important, and any planning for a future campaign must take them into account to ensure our chances of winning.

"We recognize that the last few months have at times been divisive and painful. We hope that meetings like this will begin to unite us. The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss when this issue should return to the ballot or change any one's view about that question. Rather, we invite everyone to join in the planning for what needs to be done and learn how each of us can best contribute. The decision on when to make that contribution is yours.

"It’s time to work together. Juntos podemos. Together we can."

Summit participants/organizers include:

* ALLORNOTATALL
* COURAGE CAMPAIGN
* EQUALITY ARMY
* EQUALITY NETWORK
* ERASE THE H8
* GAYS UNITED NETWORK
* INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION
* LOVE = LOVE
* LOVE HONOR CHERISH
* MARRIAGE EQUALITY USA
* MEET IN THE MIDDLE FOR EQUALITY
* ONE STRUGGLE, ONE FIGHT
* OUTRIGHT LIBERTARIANS
* RESTORE EQUALITY NOW WEST ADAMS/L.A. SOUTH (RENWL)
* SAN DIEGO ALLIANCE FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY (SAME)
* SOMOS FAMILIA
* STONEWALL DEMOCRATIC CLUB
* STONEWALL YOUNG DEMOCRATS
* STRAIGHT ALLY WOMEN 4 EQUALITY (AWE)
* TEAM COURAGE ORANGE COUNTY
* TRUTHANDHOPE.ORG
* VIETNAMESE FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY
* WHITE KNOT FOR EQUALITY
* YES! ON EQUALITY

Go here for more information and to reserve a place at the summit.

EVENT: Queer People of Color Town Hall Tuesday, July 21st in Los Angeles

Click the box on the upper right for full screen and then you can zoom in.

This event is a MUST GO!

Q*POC Town Hall

A Call to UTF Readers: Tell Us Your Stories and Give Input on California's Next Steps for Marriage Equality

Eric Nakano is an officer of OUT West, one of the largest LGBT grassroots coalitions in California. He has a special request for the Unite the Fight readership.

Dear Unite the Fight Readers:

In two weeks, grassroots LGBT rights activists and volunteers from across the state of California will descend on sleepy San Bernardino for an Equality Summit to exchange ideas, plot strategy, and plan for the future.

Last November, the county of San Bernardino, the largest by landmass in the continental United States, voted Democratic for the first time in recent memory when they voted for Barack Obama over John McCain by a mere 26,791 votes. And while the county broke overwhelmingly in favor for Prop 8, residents in the County still donated $68,000 to the No on 8 Campaign and turned out to the tune of 181,280 to vote against the measure. Who were these 181,280 voters and what did they do to keep the faith while outnumbered by a 2-1 margin?

As the grassroots begins to develop a strategy for victory, I want to remind my colleagues that any winning strategy must be one where we contest for votes in each of California’s 58 counties and in all of the state’s 25,423 precincts.

When I head to San Bernardino, I want to take with me your stories of activism and your ideas for the future. I’m especially interested in hearing from people who voted against Prop 8 in cities, towns and counties that overwhelmingly supported it.

ACTION: Email me your stories by answering these questions:

• What did you do to buck the trend?
  
• What ideas do you have to support your work in the next round?
  

You can email me at votenakano@gmail.com. Thank you for your continued involvement in our struggle for full equality.

Sincerely,

Eric Nakano
Officer, OUT West Coalition

Get Engaged on the Next Steps Towards Marriage Equality In California!

The Get Engaged Tour is in full gear, setting up community meetings across the state of California.

In these town halls, local representatives will present to the community the data collected from the largest marriage equality poll conducted in California by a large coalition of LGBT organizations and gauge feedback from attendees on next steps. These gatherings well help identify local volunteers and establish or expand regional coalitions that can be integrated into a future statewide campaign.

Check out the Get Engaged Tour website to see when and where you can attend the next meeting. You can also find the events on the UTF calendar at the bottom of the blog.

The tour ends in two weeks.

This next week, gatherings are scheduled in:

• Modesto
• San Diego
• San Joaquin
• Walnut Creek
• San Luis Obispo
• Pacifica
• San Francisco
• Los Angeles
• Inland Empire/Redlands
• Napa
• Morgan Hill
• Berkeley
• Seaside
• San Bernardino
• Fresno
• Sacramento

. . . and more in the following week.

Don't see your town? You can host your own gathering. Find out how by downloading the Get Engaged Toolkit.

Don't miss a chance to say your piece and get involved!

West Virginia to Review Marriage Equality Ban

The WVGazette.com is reporting that West Virginia state lawmakers are planning a public hearing to discuss whether or not the state should amend its constitution to limit marriage between a man and a woman.

Why even consider passing an amendment when the state already has its own Defense of Marriage Act banning marriage equality? Because opponents, such as Family Policy Center and Alliance Defense Fund claim that the law could be thrown out if challenged, and they point to Iowa as an example. If there's an amendment, like Prop 8, then any court challenge to the ban has very little chance.

"We're thankful that the Legislature is setting aside time to carefully study this issue," said Family Policy Council President Jeremiah Dys whose organization plans on appearing at the hearing as a proponent to an amendment. "To my knowledge, this is the first time the West Virginia Legislature has ever officially discussed the Marriage Protection Amendment."

Dys and a representative of the Alliance Defense Fund -- a conservative organization that says it seeks to "aggressively defend religious liberty" -- will speak in favor of the amendment.

Fairness West Virginia board President Stephen Skinner and a representative of the ACLU of West Virginia will speak against a constitutional amendment.

"I think it's important to get out there and have some of these conversations in a public way," Skinner said. "Lesbian and gay people are not threatening quote-unquote traditional marriage."

"We shouldn't be wasting our money trying to ban something in West Virginia that's already banned under statute," Skinner said.

In March, Republicans in the House of Delegates tried to force a floor vote on a bipartisan resolution calling for a statewide referendum to define marriage. Democrats blocked their attempts.

Legislators later voted to have an interim committee study the amendment issue. Now a meeting has been set for 11 a.m. July 14 in the Senate Judiciary Committee room.

ACTION: If you live in West Virginia, go to the public hearing and tell them you do not support a marriage equality ban.

DATE: July 14
TIME: 11am
WHERE: Senate Judiciary Committee room (Location: 208 West)
State Capitol Complex
Charleston, WV 25305

CONTACT the judiciary committee and tell them not to support the amendment!

Ft. Worth Police Chief Changes Tone at Public Forum; Vigil Held for Injured Bar Raid Patron

Fort Wort Police Chief Jeff Halstead has shifted his tone about the raid on the LGBT bar Rainbow Lounge after his comments yesterday that upset a lot of LGBT people, including allies.

At a forum that was already scheduled before the controversy to address Fort Worth residents' concerns about the police, Halstead responded to LGBT residents' questions about the incident.

"We’ve got to work together," Halstead said. "Be patient, and you will see that this is just not lip service. I will meet with you wherever you want to meet. I will go to your restaurants, your house, we can eat barbecue, whatever you want to do. But we’ve got to talk.

"We will heal beyond this."

Pegasus News reports on a "public chat" that took place last night in which a crowd of over 100 appeared and witnesses of the raid detailed what they saw.

A vigil also took place last night in honor of Chad Gibson who was injured during the bar's raid. Once listed in serious condition, the hospital issued good news that he is now in fair condition.

"Get Engaged" Tour Shares Latest CA Marriage Equality Polling Data with LGBT Across State

Press Release from Marriage Equality USA:

"We are a resilient community. In the face of a California Supreme Court that failed to step in when a bare majority of voters added an exception to the equal protection clause of the State Constitution, we are ready to launch a 'Get Engaged' Tour to restore marriage equality for all," said Molly McKay, Marriage Equality USA Media Director. "We believe in our community and our collective wisdom about how to best move forward together from here."

"Through the Get Engaged Tour, we will present findings from a May 2009 field poll that measured support for marriage equality and messaging provided by faith leaders, families and children of same-sex couples," said Pamela Brown, Marriage Equality USA Policy Director.

"This poll was created by a broad coalition of organizations representing communities of faith, people of color, labor, LGBT groups and straight allies and the Get Engaged Tour is intended to not only share this information but to obtain feedback from our grassroots community on our next initiative campaign," Pamela continued. "In today's economy, our greatest strength is our people. Only through engaging a broad coalition of organizations and incorporating community feedback into how we move ahead can we ensure the next campaign will honor our families, represent our faith and reflect our diversity."

"Faith leaders across California will be actively involved in the Get Engaged Tour and will be at the forefront of any future campaign to restore legal marriage for all people and to protect religious freedom," said Pastor Samuel Chu, California Faith for Equality. "Our faith-based values require us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Gay and lesbian people are our neighbors and they should be able to enjoy the dignity, respect and commitment that come with marriage."

Over a dozen events have currently been posted with more to come in the month of July. A listing of current tour locations can be found at GetEngagedTour.com. Communities not currently listed but interested in hosting events can contact us at getengaged@marriageequality.org and individuals can submit input via an on-line survey.

Marriage Equality USA's Equality Summit Presentation

Many people, both those who attended the Equality Summit and those who didn't, have asked to see the roof-raising report that Molly McKay and Pamela Brown of Marriage Equality USA presented at the meeting, which was greeted with a standing ovation.

Thanks to Pamela Brown, I now have a copy for you to view. I wish I could equally portray the fervor and passion that Pamela and Molly gave to the presentation, but if you get a chance to see them speak again, I'd advise you not to miss it.

NOTE: Appears the host for the document is having issues. It does lead you to a download link. You can find the presentation there.

UPDATE: A Unite the Fight Report on the EQCA Summit

UPDATE: An article from the San Francisco Gate on the Summit.

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.

More...

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.

The Threat of Being Unorganized

Newsweek continues to cover the resurgence of the gay rights movement, calling it "Gay Rights 2.0". I regularly find more LGBT coverage at Newsweek than any other on-line news source, and recently I found this article, "Gay Rights 2.0", examining the new activist generation, and whether or not they're prepared to take over the leadership role from the older generation.

I read this article and took it as a warning that if we do not organize ourselves soon, in particular Southern California, the hot bed of this new movement, we're going to lose momentum and lose any grounds that we have gained. Or, even worse, have less than when we began.

As I already reported earlier this week, two town hall meetings were held in Los Angeles this past weekend. Though very effective and well done, the attendance could've been better. And as I have already discussed with the coordinators, more now needs to be done about what's next, keeping the community motivated with action and less talk. We're running out of time.

Plans are already in the works for early January ACTION meetings and coalition building (stay tuned - the cogs are indeed churning). We need the community to remain involved and motivated, including leaders and founders of all the different groups to put time aside to come together and form a coalition. As already stated, there are plans to reach out to you and inform you of these meetings, so stay tuned and participate.

This is a grassroots movement, and without a community, there is no grassroots. During hard economic times, holidays and political setbacks, it's hard to keep going, to make the sacrifices needed, to find the strength and energy to keep up the fight. Yet, these are historical times, and it's our chance to make a world of difference, not only for us, but for future generations. We need new leadership, we need this fresh blood to keep flowing. Are you prepared to join the fight?

Two Town Halls Held in LA This Past Weekend

Two town halls were held in West Hollywood, CA this past weekend, hosted by Equal Roots and Marriage Equality California consecutively.

The first, held at Plummer Park, featured speakers Robin Tyler, a pioneer in the gay civil rights, grassroots movement and is currently Executive Director of The Equality Campaign; Richard Zalvidar, President and Founder of The Wall Las Memorias Project; and Marshall Wong of API Equality.

Robin was one-half of one of the same-sex couples to sue the State of California for the right to marry, which brought about the May victory in the state. She spoke about her history in the gay rights movement, starting out when she was 16 in Canada holding up signs on streets corners that said, "Gay is good" to Manhattan, where she was beaten and accidentally arrested for being a "female impersonator." Along the way, she worked with Harvey Milk, helped organize several historical marches on Washington, and took on Anita Bryant. She called for the LGBT to flood the streets in March when the Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8 is given - either to say thank you for the repeal, or to protest Prop 8 being upheld. She spoke about handing off the torch to the younger generation, saying, "The Milk Generation and the new generation are now in sync. Welcome to the streets."

More...

Marshall Wong, a native of Silver Lake, CA, a subdivision of Los Angeles, spoke about how his father wanted to buy a plot of land there in the 50s, and was told the realtor company's policy forbid the selling to non-whites. His father fought back and won, and the family moved in despite the locals filing a petition for them to leave. Marshall asked his father why he would still want to live there, and he responded, "Overtime, as they get to know us, they will see past their fears."

Marshall related this story to the LGBT community, saying now is a critical time where marching in West Hollywood won't change anything, but one-on-one contact and conversations will. Forming API to educate the Asian community, he said history was on our side, and that the LGBT community needs to focus on building bridges, even with those who do not appear to be our allies. He ended saying, "Victory will be ours."

Richard Zalvidar spoke next, focusing his message on mobilizing the LGBT community to build coalitions with other minority and straight groups. He said, "It's a give and take." The No on 8 campaign failed to reach out to the African American and Latino communities, and as a result, they've been branded homophobic, when in fact, they are not - they were just not asked to help. He said that we will never have enough votes unless we build a coalition, and to build coalitions, we must support others. He called on LGBT leaders to march with immigrant rights groups, to support other minority initiatives, so that when we need their support, they will be there for us. He called on the community to talk, to reach out and go beyond LGBT neighborhoods.

After the speakers finished, the attendees of the town hall split up into different committees of choice, including media, outreach, and leadership. (To find out how you can be involved, visit Equal Roots website.)

The Marriage Equality town hall, held the next day at West Hollywood Auditorium, was conducted in classic town hall fashion, with many from the community given a chance to speak up from the beginning. The meeting was split into two sessions: the first half was a venting session about what went wrong with Prop 8, the second half focused on actions and the future.

Many vented in the first half, one in particular saying, "Fancy ads aren't going to convince anyone [to change their minds]. It's going to be one-on-one. They need to see us," a reference to the No on 8 campaign ads that featured no gay people.

A Log Cabin Republican faced an irate audience when he stood up before them saying that gay Republicans are essential to victory, saying that in spite of the fact that they may not vote for the candidate of choice in the gay community, many still voted No, and that future campaigns shouldn't lean so far to the left.

A quick rebuttal was given that the No on 8 campaign was too conservative, tailoring itself to make conservatives happy by not fighting back, not getting in the face of our opponents, and keeping gays out of sight.

In the second half of the session, the focus was on the future and actions that should be taken. Many spoke about the groups they were forming, actions, and how to counteract what our opponents are working on now. Issues such as No Mob Veto ad, gay adoption, boycotts, sit-ins, LGBT community indifference or complacency, volunteering and manpower, and strategy were raised.

After the meeting ended, the energy did not die. And though a Christmas play was to be performed at the auditorium after the town hall, it was difficult to get the attendees to leave, many staying behind to network, discuss issues and even broke out into smaller meetings, going to coffeeshops or standing in circles, exchanging info, forming groups and planning actual actions. Many felt this was the birth of real strategy and action, and not just marching and rallying.

A panel of grassroots leaders were in attendance, including Robin Tyler again, Terry Leftgoff, Richard D. Jacobs of the Courage Campaign, Tori Osbourne, and Dr. Sylvia Rhue of the National Black Justice Coalition.

For information on more town halls, please see the calendar at the bottom of this blog.

First Hand Account of an African American Town Hall

Recently, there was a town hall held in the Los Angeles, African American community discussing Prop 8. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but Derrick, of the blog Uncle Fat Lips, was kind enough to allow me to post his account of this very interesting meeting.

"There was a panel of black ministers early on that I caught almost at the tail end. And of course with their self-righteous stupid asses they quoted the bible and all that madness. But I'm so glad that they were among the first panels to go up. And that's because the gays and lesbians were able to follow them up and give these men a dose of reality in terms the REAL aftermath of Prop 8 and what these fools created by encouraging blacks to vote Yes.

"So a lot of revealing information for the ignorant was brought to the table in so much as the big funders for YES on 8 were the one and same big funders who backed McCain's campaign and all that. Bottom line: many blacks just simply were not aware that by supporting Prop 8 they were going to bed with the enemy. And in truth, that's the most awful part about it all---the ignorance surrounding the ramifications in supporting Prop 8--as was discussed at great length today.

More...". . . But what it all melted down to was that many blacks generally made the grave mistake of voting through the prism of religion. That was the hottest topic---2nd to the fact that it is time that black homophobia be addressed on a community level since clearly it's an issue.

"I'd say there was some breakthrough simply for the fact that the ministers who attended (all of which head black mega churches) got a chance to see and hear what's going on in the real world; to hear the resentment and pain of those black gays and lesbians in long term relationships who have been denied their civil rights. And particularly it was good for these ministers to hear from black gays and lesbians who are still involved in church.

"I think the most powerful presence and the one that made the ministers feel the most ill at ease was the presence of the Southern Christian Leadership LA Chapter president. And that's simply because the SCL came out vocally against Prop 8. How can you justify your religious stance to the organization founded by Martin Luther King?

"That's just it---you can't.

"So the SCL is one sore spot they can't get around. And think that's why the ministers showed up and for the most part---with the exception of the bible thumping---they seemed somewhat receptive and seemed to actually be engrossed in what others had to say. More than likely that's cause it's the first time any of them heard any of it from a different perspective than their own.

"Everyone against Prop 8 unanimously agreed however that the No on Prop Campaign was pathetic in comparison to the well thought out strategies of Yes on Prop 8--particularly when it come to aggressively recruiting black votes--which No on 8 didn't bother to do. And they also wholeheartedly agreed that this still didn't excuse the black voter turnout on Prop 8 or diminish the issue of homophobia in the community.

". . . The facts now reveal that overall (whether you agree or disagree with gay marriage) it was not in our [African Americans] best interest as a community to support that measure. And because we did there may be prices to be paid as a result.

"That information, I think, was probably the most sobering of the townhall meeting. And it was clear, based on the quiet demeanor of those black ministers who encouraged the support of Prop 8, that they themselves were not at all clear on the possible negative legislative impact it could have on California blacks in the future. In terms of discrimination---if you open Pandora's Box---you open Pandora's box for all and everything. They simply had no business endorsing the measure. I think they walked away from the event now in realization of this."

Virtual Panel to Discuss Prop 8

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Public Invited to Virtual Town Hall Meeting:

“Prop. 8: The Facts and Future”

WHAT: A virtual town hall meeting entitled “Prop 8: The Facts and Future” on Tuesday, November 25, accessible to anyone with a computer and Internet connection. The 90-minute online forum will be hosted by Karen Ocamb, news editor at IN Los Angeles news magazine. Panel members include:

· Amy Balliett, founder of Join the Impact
· Lorri L. Jean, chief executive officer of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
· Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California
· Rev. Eric Lee, president/chief executive officer of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Los Angeles
· Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights
· John Perez, assembly member-elect of California’s 46th District
· Steve Smith, No on 8 senior campaign consultant of Dewey Square.

WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Visit www.lagaycenter.org/Prop8TownHall for details.

INFO: Questions for the panel can be e-mailed in advance of the event to the moderator at TownHallModerator@gmail.com and can also be submitted live during the event.

Community Organizing Meeting

ACT UP alumni and Unite the Fight! is currently working with many LGBTQ organizations, plus labor organizations and activists groups of color, to hold a community organizing meeting to inform the community about the great work of many groups, gay and straight, and to communicate and discuss the next steps, strategy and direction of this amazing movement demanding equal rights for all.

Details of this meeting will be posted here soon, so stay tuned (you can subscribe to the blog to stay posted - subscription option listed on right side).

In the meantime, Unite the Fight! will continue to post what's happening in the movement, reporting on the different groups, what they're doing and how you can stay involved. Check the many different links to these groups' websites on the right side, further down. (If you have a group or organization not listed, please contact us and we'll add it)

Also, a great tool at the bottom of the blog is a calendar with events and their details listed. Check it out! If you hear about an event not listed, let us know!

No on 8 Campaign Post Mortem at UCLA - first hand account

Last night, a post mortem on the No on 8 campaign was held by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School. An associate of mine, Marc, gave a first-hand account:

"The post mortem panel included Geoffrey Kors, Executive Director of Equality California. As you know EQCA spearheaded the No on 8 campaign. The organization has done some amazing work in Sacremento and is directly responsible for getting the gay marriage bill through the state senate and assembly twice. I've admired the work they done up until this campaign. . . .

Normally, questions are taken directly from the audience at these forums, but last night due to the "huge turnout," questions were to be written down and posed by the panel's moderator.

The moderator, however, took it upon himself to group similar questions and then paraphrase each group. Needless to say, bullets were dodged and the panel was spared from answering any tough questions.

The tension in the room, however, became palpable when Kors tried to explain that it was actually the gay community's tepid response at the beginning of the campaign that played a large part in the proposition's passing. He noted that No on 8's internal polling from the start of the campaign had indicated the numbers were against us. He also added that they sent press releases to the media indicating this as the public polls from the start had us winning. He said the media (and our community) didn't pay attention to their message until the public polls reflected what No on 8 had been saying all along. He said that it wasn't until the public polls showed us losing that the gay community truly became involved in the campaigned AND THAT BY THEN IT WAS PROBABLY TOO LATE FOR US TOO WIN.

He claimed that they had been sending out fundraising emails for weeks beforehand . . . . HE THEN SAID HE BELIEVED THAT THE COMMUNITY IGNORED EQCA'S PLEAS AT THE BEGINNING BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY BELIEVED THAT EQCA'S NUMBERS WERE JUST A MARKETING PLOY TO RAISE FUNDS. At no time, however, did Equality California, communicate the urgency of their findings directly to the community at large or the gay press at a press conference or such.

This is when I finally shouted, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Kors replied, "We did."

At that point, the overly polite crowd shouted back, "No you didn't." Kors got a panicked look in his face and stammered through the rest of his answer.

Several other questions were shouted from the audience when the moderator took over and began a five-minute monologue about how things were going to be different this time around. When I shouted, "Why should we trust you?", the moderator ignored me and finished the summation and ended the post mortem panel.

Kors was nowhere to be found during social event held afterward.

. . . our "leaders" were unwilling or unable to listen to the very community they are supposed to lead. The moderator also said this was time to look forward, which indicated to me (and many others) that our leaders where unwilling to discuss the mistakes made in this campaign. (The most expensive in this country's history I might add.)

In the end, Kors seemed indifferent to the type of work we all are planning to do, chalking it up to blowing off steam.

I didn't leave the room smiling."

This is some heavy reporting. What are your thoughts? What can we, as a community, do to move forward past the mistakes we've made from the No on 8 Campaign?

Mormons? No. African-Americans? No.

Old people? Well, yes.

I know Dan Savage probably isn't the final word on this issue, but let's hear him out.



However, Nate Silver, known to be an excellent pollster, uses hard voting data, and after close analysis, he actually agrees with Mr. Savage. Read his analysis.

With this in mind, take another look at the recent map that I posted earlier today diagramming who voted what and where in LA County. See post This only furthers our knowledge of the opposition and will continue to fine-tune our strategy to reach out to those who were lied to and misled about Prop 8.

KEEP POSTED ABOUT THE TOWN HALL. Together as a community, we're going to determine exactly what this strategy will be.

Town Hall Meeting development

Since last week's passing of Prop 8 and the amazing movement for change amongst both the gay and straight communities, I have been calling for a Town Hall meeting to not only support these groups and websites that have sprung up, but to coordinate our efforts.

THEY HAVE HEARD THE CALL!

Currently, there are efforts to get this done here in LA (hopefully soon to reach out to other cities to do the same). However, it's a hefty task that we're hoping to pull off, and we're making no promises. It'll take some time, but not as long as you think. Some people have asked how they can help. Once I know, I'll be sure to take you up on it.

Please stay tuned here for developments.

What now? What are our next steps?

The burning question of the hour is, "What do we do now?" We can only march and protest for so long before the nation doesn't listen anymore. In order to answer this question, we need to ask ourselves a few more questions first:

1. Who's the opposition?
2. What's our goal?
3. How do we unite?

My thoughts on the answers:

1. Who's the opposition? See my first post. Know the Opposition or my guest post on overturnprop8.com

2. What's our goal? Sounds like an easy question to answer - regain our right to same-sex marriage. But is that all? Is that the only reason we're marching and protesting? If we really think about it, no. We're fed up with years of discrimination, harassment and lack of rights. What we want is equal rights. We want the discrimination against the LGBT community to STOP. We want to be represented in our government. Obtaining the right to marriage is just one step in the right direction towards our overall goal. But this doesn't just pertain to California. This pertains to all gays in the nation. That's the overall main goal. Yes, one step at a time. But we got to keep our eyes on the goal.

3. How do we unite? We communicate. I'm hoping that this blog can help us do that. I'm reaching out to all those websites and groups that have popped up in just this past week to talk to each other, to link each other's sites, to constantly email and call each other, to continue their specific agendas but to come together as ONE for the gay community to rally behind with a single purpose. A goal. And I say we hold a town hall meeting.

So now, back to the burning question. What now?

Practically speaking: LET'S HOLD A TOWN HALL MEETING FOR LEADERS. Let's get all our leaders together, the No on 8 Campaign leaders (Dr. Delores A. Jacobs of the Center Advocacy Project, Lorri L. Jean of L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, Kate Kendell, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Geoff Kors, Equality California), Gay & Lesbian Center Directors, LA Pride leaders (Rodney Scott, and other cities' pride leaders), get our activist groups together, and discuss what's next. Create one website for different groups to update (while maintaining their own) - a one-stop-shop full of information on events and rallies, readily available, for the community. This will then activate the gay and straight communities to act as one with a single purpose.

Sounds hard? Sure. Impossible? No. Needed? DEFINITELY.

Time is of the essence. Contact these leaders (links listed on the right of this blog). Ask for a meeting. Ask them to communicate to each other. Send them my way if you want! Just . . .

ACT NOW AND UNITE!