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EQUAL IN EVERY STATE Home
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Saturday, April 27th is EQUAL IN EVERY STATE DAY Mission Statement Produce greater community awareness about the importance of the freedom 2) Engaging community organizations and leaders for their endorsement of civil marriage for same-sex couples. 3) Unifying same-sex couples across the country for community action resulting in equal rights under the law. Objective Today, same-sex couples are not allowed to marry in any state including Vermont (which has civil unions.) Equal In Every State Equal In Every State understands that domestic partnership and civil union are one step in the right direction. Civil unions provides the same 300 state rights that marriage does in the state it applies to but it does not address the true nature of equality for same sex-couples. Same-sex couples receive no federal recognition or the 1,049 federal rights that heterosexual couples do. Also other states will not recognize a "civil union" from another state. For us and many others in the lesbian and gay community, marriage is what we believe we deserve. Separate but equal is the next best thing but is only that…2nd best. For more information see Marriage Equality’s We are organizing a national awareness campaign that focuses the media on same-sex couples that are choosing to marry, couples who sign up will represent their city, small or large, as long as it's on the 50 states. There is no limit to the how many same-sex couples can sign up nationally or in any particular city or state to join in on the campaign. After this first group of couples is married on April 27, 2002. Couples wishing to take the next step will coordinate and launch class action lawsuits simultaneously on August 1, 2002. By unifying the couples in each of the states and launching simultaneous state-level legal actions, we work toward public education and social change. In 2003, the weddings will take place on April 26. And each successive year until gay marriage is equal in every state. As the momentum behind the campaign grows, we will be displaying a large contingent of same-sex couples and set a new public example for homosexual lifestyle. More legal action will take place resulting in further pressure on political establishments torecognize equality. In addition, we will organize around the 2002 election year to bring this issue to the forefront. At the couples local level the celebrations/receptions connected to the weddings will be public focal points since we are garnering support from public figures that are invited to attend these events. The intense work could take several years, but by unifying and combining efforts we can accomplish the goal of equality sooner. - more info - Prejudice is Prejudice Separate but equal... There was a time in the near past when such thinking was applied to Interracial Marriages. In the landmark case of Loving V. Virginia, which dealt with Richard and Mildred Loving, a mixed race couple who were legally married in Washington D.C. When the couple returned to their home in Virginia, they were charged with violating Virginia's ban on interracial marriages. They pleaded guilty to the charge and were sentenced to one year in jail; however, the trial judge suspended the sentence for a period of 25 years on the condition that the Lovings leave the State and not return to Virginia for 25 years. The Lovings fought all the way to the Supreme Court and won in 1967. Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of [humans]," fundamental to our very existence and survival. (Skinner v. Oklahoma 1942 and Maynard v. Hill 1888.) The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State. The U.S. Supreme Court held in its 1967 decision for Loving V. Virginia that restricting marriage to same-race couples was unlawful. The government's restriction of marriage to different-sex couples is discriminatory as well. The choice of a marriage partner belongs to each individual, not to the state. To us this relates equally to gay marriage. Marriage carries with it a certain meaning for all people regardless of their ethnic group or sexuality. In addition to protections, rights, etc., marriage also represents love, commitment and respect. - more info - |
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wants to help to change that.