National Equality March Releases Schedule of Events; Get a Free Bus Ride to Washington DC!

The National Equality March has released a schedule of events for the weekend of the march, starting on Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11. Check it out so you know when and where you want to be.

Do you need help getting to the march? Check this video out!



Go to BroadwayImpact.com

NO on 1 Campaign Releases New Radio Ad, Blasts Anti-LGBT Yes on 1 Tactics

The newest NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality radio ad hitting the airwaves:



For context, check out Yes on 1 tv and radio ads and the most recent summary of news in Maine.

Recently, WMTW did a news report looking into the validity of the Yes on 1 tv ad, questioning the "doomsday" predictions brought on by marriage equality.

In the report, Marc Mutty of Yes on 1 all but admits that none of these predictions have actually happened but states there's no reason to believe it won't. The report also references the Yes on 1 tactic of releasing a letter by a University of Michigan law professor to Gov. Baldacci sent before the signing of the new marriage equality law warning of dire consequences. NO on 1 issued a response to this over the weekend.

NO on 1 Slams Latest Ploy by Proponents of Question 1

Calls last-minute appeal by Michigan lawyer "political gamesmanship"

Portland, Maine (Saturday, September 19, 2009)
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The NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign today slammed the latest attempt by the Yes campaign to distract voters from the real issues surrounding Question 1.

On Thursday, the Yes campaign produced -- for the first time -- a letter by University of Michigan law professor Douglas Laycock to Gov. John Baldacci urging him not to sign the bill unless it contained certain provisions Laycock claimed would address religious liberty.

The Laycock letter is dated April 30, 2009, just days before the Legislature passed and the Governor signed the bill on May 6, 2009.

Professor Laycock, who represents himself as a supporter of marriage equality, did not participate in what was a very public and open process that began early in 2009 when the bill's filing was announced.

On Friday (September 18, 2009), NO on 1 released a detailed memorandum by distinguished Maine legal experts that methodically refutes the claims in both Professor Laycock's letter and the Yes Campaign's television and radio ads.

"Unfortunately, the Yes Campaign is rolling out another out-of-state lawyer to set up a legal smoke screen in an attempt to divert attention away from the hallmarks of the legislation -- equality and fairness for all Mainers," said State Senator Barry J. Hobbins, a member of the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary and a lawyer with 30 years experience practicing in the state.

"This bill was carefully and thoughtfully written to protect religious liberties. Opponents are spewing the same tired arguments to fight against civil rights."

"This is nothing more than political gamesmanship," said NO on 1 campaign manager Jesse Connolly.

"Professor Laycock did not participate in the public debate, never contacted the bill's sponsors and literally FEDEXed his letter to the governor in the final hours before passage."

Distributed to the Maine media and available to the public at this link, the NO on 1 memorandum is signed by Maine Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, former Maine Attorneys General Steve Rowe and James Tierney, House Chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee Representative Emily Cain, University of Maine School of Law Dean Peter Pitegoff* and University of Maine School of Law Professor David P. Cluchey*.

*University listed for identification purposes only, not endorsement

The amazing Louise at Pam's House Blend does a great job posting many of the recent local media responses to the ongoing campaigns surrounding marriage equality. Also, continue to check the "Recommended Reading" sidebar here on UTF for other Maine related articles.

Maine continues to need to our support. Go the the NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality website and find out how you can get involved from anywhere in the nation!

Student-Run National Marriage Boycott Wins $10,000 Grant Thanks To Your Votes

Last month, Kenzie Seal of the National Marriage Boycott guest posted on Unite the Fight, asking you to vote at IdeaBlob.com for them to win a $10,000 grant for their efforts to bring marriage equality nationwide. And thanks to your participation, they won, setting them up to be one of the largest student-run marriage equality organizations in the nation. Following is their press release.

A student-driven movement to urge Congress and President Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act has won ideablob's $10,000 prize for the month of August. Hoping to organize and empower the millions of Americans who support same-sex marriage, the group will use the money to open chapters in all fifty states in the coming year.

SPRING HOUSE, Penn., (September 15, 2009) Advanta Corp. announced today that Kenzie Seal, Stanford University undergraduate and CFO of the National Marriage Boycott, has been named August 2009's ideablob.com monthly contest winner for the best small business idea, as voted on by the ideablob community. The announcement that the group had won $10,000, came within twenty-four hours of Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introducing the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

The National Marriage Boycott is a student-driven movement to urge Congress and President Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Members sign a pledge to boycott marriage until DOMA is repealed and wear an Equality Ring to symbolize their commitment. The organization is quickly growing, increasing from a single campus to twenty campuses in over ten states in the past year.

The organization supports itself financially through the sale of $10 stainless steel 'Equality Rings,' that members wear on their ring finger as a symbol of their commitment not to get married until the Defense of Marriage Act is repealed. People who are already married take off their wedding ring and replace it with the Equality Ring in solidarity.

The group's co-director, Laura Wadden, explains their business model, “We wanted to create a movement that enabled straight people to show their support for LGBT rights, and we wanted this movement to have the capacity to rapidly expand in a financially sustainable way. The rings allow us to finance our expansion, while creating a recognizable symbol for our cause.” By funding its advocacy through ring sales rather than donations, the group brings a social entrepreneurship model to LGBT advocacy.

Greg Goldgof, the group's other co-director explains a second motivation behind the rings, “We hope the spread of Equality Rings across the country will show closeted youths that they have supportive allies and decrease the rate of LGBT teen suicide. According to the Trevor Project [an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization], LGBT and questioning youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than the national average. Perhaps together we can decrease that number by bringing greater visibility to the millions of people who support LGBT rights.”

According to Seal, the money from the contest will go towards “the cost of incorporation, outreaching to more schools, producing promotional materials, and maintaining a presence at progressive and LGBTQ events around the country.” Sarah Masimore, the organization's Chief Operating Officer further explains, “The money will enable us to accelerate our growth. Today we are in ten states. In a year we plan to be in every state, demonstrating that Americans care about equal rights regardless of where you live or whom you love.”

Iowa Poll Shows Residents Evenly Split Over Marriage Equality

The Desmoines Register produced the first Iowan poll on marriage equality since the Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. The nation's attention focused on the state since Iowa became the first mid-west state allowing gays and lesbians to marry, and many opponents and their dollars rushed in supporting different candidates who shared their views.

With the 2010 elections coming up, all 100 seats in the house are up for a vote as well as the governor's office with many gubernatorial candidates opposing marriage equality, and opposition forces hope to use the elections to get like-minded politicians in office and overturn the new law.

Yet many Iowans don't share their furor.

If a public referendum was held to ban marriage equality today, 41% would vote for the ban with 40% opposing. The remainder claimed they would not vote on it or were not sure.

35% of opponents to marriage equality strongly opposed while only 18% of supporters strongly favored.

But here's what's most striking and what could possibly be the death knell to some major talking points to anti-marriage equality forces: 92% claimed that same-sex marriage brought no real change to their lives.

63% claim candidates' stands on other issues will be more important in making their decisions in the 2010 elections.



Those these numbers don't show a majority support for marriage, it's very positive in that the anti-LGBT forces are quickly losing ground. Despite the cash flowing into Iowa, residents either don't feel marriage equality is a priority compared to other issues, or they actually support it and aren't swayed by the lies. This was proven recently with a National Organization for Marriage-backed candidate losing in a recent special election.

A recent Maine poll showed similar numbers (46% for marriage equality, 48% against), but unlike Iowa, Maine does have a public vote on their new marriage equality law coming up in November.

Help Maine protect marriage equality!

New York City Mayor Says Chances of State's Marriage Equality Bill is "Zero, Zero."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains committed to marriage equality, but the chances of the state's marriage bill being voted on in the senate this fall are "zero, zero" he claims.

In an exclusive interview with Gay City News:

“I don’t know how to get it to come up,” he said, explaining his view that having the issue move to the Senate floor may prove more difficult than rounding up the votes. “If you want my honest opinion,” Bloomberg continued, the Senate leadership is unlikely to move a gay marriage bill “when I don’t see these guys willing to stand up for less controversial issues.”

Despite the fact that the number of states with legal gay marriage quickly shot up to six this past spring, the mayor said, “I ‘m scared to death that the country is going in the wrong direction… I think on other LGBT issues they are clearly moving in the direction that I think they should go and you probably do too. It’s the marriage thing that I don’t see.”

Even in New York, where Paterson and his predecessor Eliot Spitzer have been outspoken in supporting gay marriage, Bloomberg argued, “Whether anybody who runs for governor next year will stand up for gay marriage, I’ll bet you 25 cents no.”

Bloomberg, making billions in software services, spoke of his influence over Republicans, such as Senator Frank Padavan of Queens and conservative Democrat Senator Ruben Diaz, both staunchly opposed to marriage equality.

“‘I’m the main funder,’” Bloomberg said of his ability to sway the views of Republican senators. “‘You know, you can’t dictate every piece of legislation, and I don’t want to say that they’re bribable. But they know where I stand, and they want me to be a supporter.’”

Diaz, who I have had a few choice words about before, had his say about Bloomberg.



Empire State Pride Agenda, New York state's largest LGBT advocacy group, is actively involved in getting the marriage equality bill a vote. Get involved!

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Students for the National Equality March Issue Call to Action

Students for the National Equality March (NEMStudents) have issued a call to action, demanding that students across the country organize for the event and for the long-term movement for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) rights. The statement echoes the single demand of the National Equality March for full and equal protection for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

NEMStudents acknowledge the historical significance of the National Equality March and of prior student movements for social justice. All students, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, are encouraged to sign the call to action. Over 100 student leaders, among them representatives of Princeton, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Tulane University, Texas Tech, Columbia, UCLA, and NYU have signed thus far. Student organizations in all 435 congressional districts of the U.S. are organizing for the National Equality March and building a national network of student activists, indicating a distinctly bottom-up organizational structure that has been absent from many previous LGBTQ marches. The organization's website at www.NEMStudents.org offers links and resources to aid students in finding transportation, housing, and support.

NEMStudents have also announced a Student Day of Action to take place September 22. Students are urged to promote the March by flyering, organizing meetings to educate about the March, writing to campus newspapers, organizing speak-outs, and screening LGBTQ films, such as the critically acclaimed Milk.

The National Equality March will be the first march for LGBTQ rights in Washington DC since President Clinton held office, and will take place October 10-11, 2009.

For further comment, contact David Valk (National Student Outreach Coordinator) at dvalk@ucla.com or 949-350-8773.

Check out the long list of endorsements on Towleroad.