2009 Freedom to Marry Day

On National Freedom to Marry Day, Thursday, February 12, 2009, at local marriage counters in cities all over the country, same-sex couples will request marriage licenses at their local County Clerk’s Offices to raise awareness of the harms and impact the inability to marry causes on their families.

This national event is hosted yearly by Marriage Equality USA and this year they have asked Join the Impact for thier help to make this the largest Marriage Counter Action yet!

Since 2001, Marriage Equality USA® chapters have engaged in these annual marriage counter actions to render visible the discrimination that is enforced every day. It is an affront to our basic dignity as fellow human beings when same-sex couples are turned away from the marriage counter, but it gives us the opportunity to tell our stories and show that we live in every community and want to honor and protect our families like everyone else. Everyone who supports marriage equality is welcomed to attend and support this event.

Marriage Equality USA currently has chapters operating in 9 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

Nationwide DOMA Protest

On Saturday January 10th, 2009
JOIN THE IMPACT is asking that you to join them in making the LARGEST IMPACT YET!

Let's take our message all the way up the ladder to President Elect Barack Obama himself!

On January 10th, we will come together as one UNITED FRONT asking the LGBTQ community to join us in signing an Open Letter to President Barack Obama, during a NATIONAL DOMA PROTEST.

This letter will remind President Elect Barack Obama of the promises he made to us. It will also serve as a pledge from our community that we will hold him to his promises and help him achieve them.

We can’t just put a letter online and ask that people sign it. We need to take to the streets. As we all know… VISIBILITY IS THE KEY TO EQUALITY! Outreach & Education Will End Discrimination. We MUST Infiltrate, to Educate, and Stop Hate!

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

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  Find out who is organizing a DOMA Protest in your area. (+Cities">Quick Link to State Page) If there isn't one, then volunteer to organize an event, or organize to collect signatures!
  


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  Download the Open Letter and take to the streets to gain signatures. Get one million signatures (in total across the nation) by the end of the day on January 10th.
  


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  Mail the collected signatures to the JTI clearinghouse address BY DEADLINE: Join The Impact, PO Box 141491, Columbus, OH 43214
  

NOTE:

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  If you can't organize a protest or one is not organized in your city (understandable with the holidays and all), then don't worry, you can still participate:
  


• Sign up to organize a carpool in your area that gets everyone to the closest protest
  Get a group of friends together to canvas your neighborhood to get signatures for the open letter.

The Point of this event...

... to gather at least one million signatures on an Open Letter to President Barack Obama
to be delivered to him on his first day in office.

Join Us on January 10th for 1 Million Signatures to Repeal DOMA!