Jerry's email update on the fight for Equal Rights (August 12, 2004)
  
 California High Court Voids Same-Sex Marriages More info below

IT's MY BIRTHDAY!
Give the gift that keeps on giving...
  

Complete the 2 brand new actions on my HRC page... 
I only need 25 more to meet my goal!

Hi Friends,

Yesterday was in fact my birthday.  The best possible present you could give is to revisit the my HRC action Page and complete the 2 brand spankin' new online actions.  Both actions are prewritten email, all you need to do is fill out your personal info and hit the send button.

I only have 25 actions to go until I meet my HRC commitment.  If everyone on this distribution list takes the actions, I'll make my goal THIS WEEK.

These new actions are VERY important.  The Federal Marriage Amendment is now on its way to the House.

Please go back to my TAKE ACTION PAGE and complete the two new options.  I've worked really hard and spent a lot of time on this new fight for civil rights and really appreciate the support of my friends.


Notable items this week:

California High Court Voids Same-Sex Marriages 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The California Supreme Court voided all same-sex marriages sanctioned by San Francisco this year and ruled Thursday that the city's mayor overstepped his authority by issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

The justices decided with a 5-2 vote to nullify the nearly 4,000 marriages peformed between Feb. 12 and March 11, when the court halted the weddings. Their legality, Justice Joyce Kennard wrote, must wait until ''the constitutionality of California laws restricting marriages to opposite-sex couples has been authoritatively resolved through judicial proceedings.''.
FULL STORY


Please Read, Take Action and Forward


A dedicated group of individuals has come together to create a revolutionary one-stop-shopping center for marriage equality in Massachusetts. 
SupportEquality.org is designed to help you focus your political giving and your time on the candidates and organizations that are most likely to make a difference in the fight to preserve equal marriage rights. The individuals behind this groundbreaking website have analyzed the critical Massachusetts House and Senate races to determine where your donations and volunteer work will make the greatest difference. They have also identified PACs and advocacy organizations (including MassEquality.org and MassEquality PAC) that will make effective use of your gifts. The best part is that you only have to enter your name and credit card information once -- SupportEquality.org processes all your contributions at once, without taking a single cent. 

$100,000 challenge: MassEquality has received an incredible challenge from a generous donor. It's pretty simple, really. This donor will match every dollar we raise between now and August 31st, up to $100,000. 

Every dollar you give now will have twice the impact. And it couldn't come at a better time. Within the next month, not only will we be engaged in our advocacy work to preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts, but we'll also be hiring new staff and equipping a new office. Receiving your contribution now is critically important. 

You can make a contribution to help us meet our challenge in one of three ways: 

1) Visit our website -- www.MassEquality.org -- and click to contribute; 

2) Visit www.SupportEquality.org -- contributions to MassEquality through this site will count toward our match; 

3)
Mail a check before August 31st to MassEquality.org, 398 Columbus Ave Box 198, Boston, MA 02116. 

Again, please make sure your friends and family members know about this special opportunity. With your help, we will rise up to meet the challenge. 

Thank you, 

Marty Rouse
Campaign Coordinator
.


Donate For Equality: The Freedom to Marry PAC supports Equality Candidates.

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Freedom To Marry
Political Action Committee by longtime marriage advocates Josh
Friedes and Marc Solomon. The goal of their PAC is to support
candidates who support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Mitt Romney wants an amendment that outlaws same-sex marriage.

He has targeted several incumbents that voted against that amendment.

His party has raised over $600,000 to unseat them.

He'd like to pack the State House with legislators that agree with him.

To defeat the amendment we must elect candidates who will vote against it at the next Constitutional Convention. Money matters in campaigns. In Massachusetts, the candidate who spends the most money almost always wins. Money pays for mailings, yard signs, polls, bumper stickers, radio advertisements, and staff.

Please donate to the Freedom to Marry PAC now to help elect
candidates that support same-sex marriage:
http://FreedomToMarryPAC.org/donate.php

Please forward this to friends and family nationwide that
want to help preserve same-sex marriage rights in Massachusetts.
In doing so you help us help the Freedom to Marry PAC.

Every bit helps.

Thank you,
Robert DeBenedictis and Valerie Fein-Zachary, Co-Chairs
The Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts
http://EqualMarriage.org

TAKE ACTION HERE

 
Please revisit my HRC, take action page.
I have 75 out of my goal for 100 actions.
   
Contribute to the campaign of Paul Meoni   
He is
challenging the My local representative who has consistently voted against my civil rights.

Submit an editorial to your local paper every 35 days.  It is important to publicly show support for gay marriage! 
Helpful suggestions

Dontamend.com

Dearmary.com
 



Previous updates:

8/05/2004: ANOTHER MAJOR SETBACK & ANOTHER SMALL WIN.

7/29/2004: MAJOR SETBACK!
Discriminatory Marriage Protection Act Passed by a Vote of 233 to 194 

7/21/2004: GOP HAS MOVED THE MARRIAGE DEBATE TO THE HOUSE AND EXPECTS TO WIN

7/15/2004: The US SENATE SHOOTS DOWN THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT!    But,..

7/08/2004: Court Date Set In Mass. Out-Of-State Weddings Case

6/30/2004: Federal appeals court denies attempt to block same-sex weddings 

6/24/2004: Romney urges federal ban on gay-marriage 'experiment'

6/17/2004: Gay marriage opponents gear up for fall. .

6/9/2004: Tell Mitt Romney To Stop His Anti-Gay Crusade.

5/27/2004: Governor Romney is BOOed at Suffolk Commencement Ceremony!

5/20/2004: WE CAN MARRY!!! 

5/13/2004: Judge refuses to stop gay marriages!!!

5/7/2004: Boston may ignore governor's directive on gay marriage

4/30/2004: Governor Aims to Limit Marriage to Mass. Residents, GLAD Offers Perspective

4/22/2004: I'm featured in today's paper  :-) HORRIBLE PICTURE!

4/13/2004: LETTER FROM QUINCY'S HERO: REP RONALD MARIANO

4/8/2004: Quincy's Rep Mariano Changes Vote to Support Civil Rights!

4/1/2004: CIVIL RIGHTS SETBACK IN MA

 

News Articles of Interest

Upcoming Events 

 
Calif. high court to rule on gay nuptials
SAN FRANCISCO -- Exactly six months ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sparked equal parts elation and outrage when he allowed same-sex couples to get married in the famously gay-friendly city -- even taking part by officiating at some unions.
Full Story 
  

Setback for gay challenge to Louisiana marriage-ban measure
Last-minute efforts to derail Louisiana's vote on an amendment banning same-sex marriage were dealt a setback on Tuesday, when Judge Nadine Ramsey in New Orleans told gay rights advocates to refile their suit in Baton Rouge.
FULL STORY

 
First suit against DOMA by same-sex spouses wed in Canada
An attorney Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a Tampa, Fla., courtroom that invokes both NAFTA and the United Nations Human Rights Charter.
Full Story 


Australia forbid
s same-sex marriage
again
Australia's Labor Party caucus voted for the third time on August 10 to forbid gay marriage, but a backlash by Democrats spurred a promise by lawmakers to review the status of gay relationships.
Full Story
 

First suit against DOMA by same-sex spouses wed in Canada
An attorney Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a Tampa, Fla., courtroom that invokes both NAFTA and the United Nations Human Rights Charter.
Full Story 

Utah AG Candidates Oppose Gay Marriage Ban
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah’s three candidates for attorney general jointly announced their opposition Friday to a ballot measure banning gay marriage, saying it is so poorly written it could strip away fundamental rights for unmarried heterosexual couples.
Full Story 

NFL pro likens gay men to rats, implies Garcia is gay
Football player Terrell Owens, the receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, is being quoted as comparing gay men to rats in an excerpt from a Playboy article published Tuesday in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Full Story 

 


Summer of Equality
Last month, we (MassEquality) launched the Summer of Equality.  We are working with the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts to provide you and thousands of other MassEquality members with  meaningful opportunities to make a difference in our campaign.  We have volunteer opportunities around the state -- opportunities to identify supporters of same-sex marriage at public events or by going door-to-door.  In addition, we are working to connect our members with electoral campaigns where the outcome could make a difference for us.

Check out the Summer of Equality calendar and sign up today by visiting www.MassEquality.org/soe_doc/index.php