Last Thursday, a broad coalition of Californians filed ballot language with the State of California for an initiative to repeal Proposition 8 in November 2010, and restore equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
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“Starting today, there is new hope for committed gay and lesbian couples who want to get married,” said John Henning, Executive Director of Love Honor Cherish, a grassroots association that is spearheading the effort to place the measure on the 2010 ballot. “We’re back on the path toward full equality.”
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Love Honor Cherish is one of more than 40 organizations that support repealing Prop 8 at the next general election (November 2010). The groups include Stonewall Democrats/Los Angeles, the Latino Equality Alliance, the Mexican American Bar Association, and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality, among others. For a full list, go to www.RepealProp8.com. Although some LGBT rights groups believe we should wait until 2012, there is a growing consensus that equal rights cannot be postponed that long.
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Photo of John Henning, executive director of LOVE HONOR CHERISH, speaking at the LGBT Leadership Summit in San Bernardino, CA July 25, 2009 about why we can't wait to repeal Proposition 8
Come this November (2009), the broad coalition of groups supporting the initiative will begin circulating petitions to gather the 1 million signatures needed to qualify the initiative. Henning called on supporters to mobilize immediately and start raising money for the effort. “Activists across the state have spent the summer organizing and recruiting signature gatherers and donors, and we’ll be continuing that work over the next 50 days,” he said. The name gathering process will last through April 2010.
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Proposition 8 was an amendment to the California Constitution passed by voters in November 2008 that reversed a California Supreme Court decision in May 2008, which held that same-sex couples were guaranteed equal marriage rights under the California Constitution. “Prop 8 passed with only 52% of the vote,” continued Henning. “In the next 14 months, with hard work and inspiration, we can change the small percentage of hearts and minds that we need to win.”
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Love Honor Cherish, which was formed in May 2008 to defeat Proposition 8, has already raised over $500,000 for the No on 8 campaign, and continues to mount its own outreach and media efforts. For more information and the exact wording of the ballot initiative, visit www.LoveHonorCherish.org.
Sometimes the best way to open people’s hearts and minds is through humor, so enjoy and share the following videos about Proposition 8 with your friends and enemies!
But first, watch the extremely serious ABC Fresno News video report: “Gay Rights Supporters Gear Up For Another Fight (to repeal Prop 8)”:
Check out this hilarious video: “Stephen Colbert's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad" from Comedy Central and Funny or Die. “There's a giant gay storm gathering, and before long the winds will be blowing each other”:
Photo of yellow and white Bravoure Daffodil Jonquil Narcissus growing in Oklahoma's Zone 7 from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos20
A frontline veteran of the 1969 Gay Revolution, I worship the sun on fifteen acres in the Oklahoma woods. When I'm not floating in my pool, I care for heirloom varieties of turkeys, guineas, chickens, peafowl, guppies, and wildflowers. During the mid sixties, I was Feature Editor of my high school newspaper, The Ramrod, three years in a row. During the late sixties, I wrote for the Berkeley Barb, the Berkeley Tribe, and San Francisco’s Vector magazine. After running a Denver pet store for 28 years, I returned to writing full time in 2000 and received numerous awards for my novels, memoirs, poems, short stories, and essays.
My idols are Tennessee Williams, William Goldman, and Marc Cherry. Torquere Press debuted my premier e-novel, The Happy Campers in 2005-2006. My San Francisco memoir, BEYOND NORMAL: The Birth of Gay Pride is now available as an iBook, eBook, or a paperback (http://booklocker.com/books/5090.html). Lambda Literary Award Finalist! Although I'm fully aware that love is a lie, after having had two long-term lovers drive me crazy and vice versa, I am most anxious for the next fairy tale to begin. I'm fond of my Chihuahua, but don’t wish to marry him. (Too hairy.)
To check out my official AUTHOR WEBSITE, with humorous short stories, passionate poems, satiral essays, and mind-boggling book chapter excerpts, click here!
SOOTH YOUR BATTERED SOUL with exquisite photos of wild and domestic garden flowers, beautiful water lilies growing in peaceful ponds, and rainbow-colored delta-tail guppies sporting caudal fins that resemble flags blowing in the wind, by clicking here!
"I surround myself with vibrant people and vivid flowers in order to block out the ugliness of the world."--Gale Chester Whittington
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