National DOMA Protest: January 10, 2009. (Please keep kicked)

[keepCAblue]

From http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Nationwide+DOMA+Protest?t=anon">JointheImpact.com...
Check http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Quick+Links+States+%3E+Cities">JTI's state page to find a protest near you.

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The fight for equal rights never rests!

* We joined together for the November 15th National Day of Protest that shook our nation!
* We joined for a night of action that shed light on our struggle as we came together to Light Up the Night for Equal Rights...
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Now, on Saturday January 10th, 2009
We ask you to join us 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!

This is why we CONTINUE to come together as a community and
speak out about the injustices that exist nationally AND locally.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

* Find out who is organizing a DOMA Protest in your area. (Quick Link to State Page) If there isn't one, then volunteer to organize, or at least get signatures!
* Grab the Open Letter (Check back here for the letter coming soon) and take to the streets to gain signatures.
* Get one million signatures (in total) by the end of the day on January 10th! Once we have a minimum of one million signatures, we will make certain that President Elect Barack Obama receives our letter on DAY 1 of his presidency!

NOTE:
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:

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

The Number One Point of this event...

...is to gather at least one million signatures on a petition/letter to President Obama
to be delivered to him on his first day in office.

The event itself will vary by location depending on organizers availability and local sense of how to best do it. Please make posts below to discuss ideas...

Join Us on January 10th for 1 Million Signatures to Repeal DOMA!
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About DOMA:
On September 21st, 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed into federal law. DOMA, wrote discrimination into the Constitution with two strict regulations:

1. No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) need treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
2. The Federal Government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.

To drive the point even further, 37 states slowly but surely adopted DOMA as a state-wide regulation further amending state Constitutions. This appalling law tells the American people that it is OK to discriminate. That it is OK to recognize the LGBTQ community as less than equal. This same law, that the California Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional set the precedence for Proposition 8. This same law has nullified many rights that come with Domestic Partnerships. This law has nullified the heterosexual rights that come with Common Law Marriage. This law blurred the lines of separation of church and state even further. And this law, is one of many that President Elect Barack Obama has PROMISED to repeal in his "Open Letter to the LGBTQ Community."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMCxNm7YyxM

[foxfeet]

1. K&R

[Maven]

2. K/R

[LeftyMom]

3. The 10th? Shit.

I have a houseful of guests coming in from all over the place. I'll have to skip this one. :(

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

4. how many non gays know what DOMA is ?

I think we have to work on educating folks, with pamplets or flyers, because most won't realize what we're protesting about.

[MNBrewer]

5. Isn't that a house of the Russian Parliament?

[keepCAblue]

7. That is the point of the protests. n/t

[Jamastiene]

6. K&R

[ruggerson]

8. Recommended

[ColbertWatcher]

9. k+r, n/t

[Vanje]

10. Kick

[EFerrari]

11. Link to action thread in GD:P that could use some love:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8041868

[snot]

12. Adding my concerned but ignorant voice: WHAT IS DOMA?

Like, I follow things at least somewhat here on DU, I have lots of gay friends, I've written essays about why we should support gay marriage; but I never heard of DOMA. Pls help people like me understand what it is you want help with!

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. DOMA = "Defense" Of Marriage Act

It was a cowardly piece of federal legislation, signed by Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996 as secretly as is possible for a federal law to be enacted (on a Saturday, late at night so it will not be news on Sunday and will be old news come Monday, no media, no witnesses.) It has two parts:

1. No state or other political subdivision within the United States shall be required to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.

2. The Federal Government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.

These are of very questionable constitutionality, as (1) directly violates the Full Faith And Credit Clause of the US Constitution ("Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state." Article IV, Sec. 1.) and (2) makes a likely illegal distinction between types of marriages. Despite several federal challenges, however, the Supreme Court has been unwilling to challenge this law; the fact that even a conservative Court is afraid to enshrine this law in Supreme Court precedent does not bode well for its legal basis.

[keepCAblue]

15. Read the OP. "DOMA" is explained in the OP. n/t

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. As it happens, I will be in San Francisco that weekend

Where can I find information about events in that city?

[keepCAblue]

16. Info on DOMA Protest in San Fran ---->

The SF organizers haven't added the details to their Join the Impact page yet, but if you check back to the below link as Jan. 10th nears, you'll find the details posted:

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/San+Francisco

[TechBear_Seattle]

18. Many thanks! n/t

[Veruca Salt]

17. This needs a national TV ad campaign as well

It would certianly help the uninformed become informed as unfortunatly only a small subset of people will know about it unless there is a significant grassroots effort and a TV spot about what DOMA is its negative effects, and information on the protests would go a long, long way in really sparking the movement.

[keepCAblue]

20. National ad campaigns cost mucho dinero...

Join the Impact and the local branches participating in this protest are a fledgling grassroots movement, most of which is organized via the JTI website. There is no money to speak of to pay for a formal national ad campaign. It is incumbent upon each city which is hosting a protest to do local PSAs and press releases.

[Ian David]

19. K&R n/t

[Ms. Toad]

21. Slight correction -

"This law has nullified the heterosexual rights that come with Common Law Marriage."

Common law marriages are actually legally recognized marriages - you just enter into them via a different route (without a formal state sanctioned ceremony or license). They are just as much a marriage as one in which a license was issued and a ceremony held - and (which many people may not know) require a court order (or death) to terminate. There is no such thing as common law divorce - which is often not discovered until the (common law) husband/wife #1 challenges the inheritance of (ceremonial) husband/wife #2 and loses because the common law marriage was never legally ended. (Here's a quick summary: http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectId/709FAEE4-ABEA-4E17-BA34836388313A3C/catID/3C3AF4CE-DB9E-48C4-8DFCFE2E47C91747/118/304/145/FAQ/ )

Where common law marriages are recognized, the marriage discrimination statutes and amendments did nothing to change the recognition. The federal government still (years after the federal marriage discrimination act) recognizes common law marriages in Ohio as long as they were established before around 1990 (when the common law means of establishing marriage in Ohio was abolished). The common law marriages that predated the change still exist and are still recognized by the state of Ohio (which also has both a marriage discrimination statute and amendment), by the federal government, and by every other state in the United States.

There are relationships that are informally referred to as "common law marriages." These generally are not common law marriages, and generally are not associated with any rights. To the extent there are any rights associated with living together (family violence statutes in Ohio, for example) what the marriage discrimination amendments and statutes did to those rights will require litigation to sort out. In Ohio, to the extent they have been litigated in the arena of family violence, the statutes/amendments did nothing to change those rights.

... correction aside - bravo for bringing this to our attention!!

[golddigger]

22. Kick...n/t

[keepCAblue]

23. kick n/t

[mitchtv]

24. kick

:kick:

[dstep517]

25. Statewide Rally for Equality Jan 10th at 130pm in Columbus

Sat January 10th 2009
130pm

Rally for Equality at the Capital
Statehouse
High/Broad St
Columbus, OHIO

Lets join forces to make our voices heard in OHIO! This is a statewide rally so people from all over Ohio will be there. Voice your concern over the inequalities

that the LGBT community face everyday!

Here is the link to the Rally Facebook event page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=111395790857

If you need a ride or have a ride please update the carpool page with your info
Carpool Locations:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Carpool+Locations


You can also visit us at:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Ohio

If you have any questions feel free to email:

Derek Stephens
[email protected]

[dstep517]

36. RALLY TOMORROW RESCHEDULED TIL JAN 31ST

Due to weather conditions across the state, Saturday's statewide rally for equality has been rescheduled for Saturday January 31st at 1:30 . Please help us to get the word out about the new date!

Though its unfortunate that we will not be able to rally tomorrow, this only gives us more time to spread the word even more throughout Ohio. Be on the look out in the upcoming days as to how you can help organizing and promotional efforts in your community!

Furthermore, in light of the rally's conjunction with Join the Impact events occurring nationwide, it is still crucial for Ohio to do its part in ensuring that Barack Obama fulfills his promises to the LGBTQ community. Join the Impact has been gathering 1,000,000 signatures on a nation wide letter to Barack Obama and will continue to do so until January 12th.

Equality Ohio and the Human Rights Campaign are asking every Ohioan to sign the national letter to president elect Obama to make sure that LGBTQ and allied voices in Ohio are heard! Print the letter and signature pages and ask your family, friends, and neighbors to sign for equality. Together, we will effectively remind president elect Obama of his campaign promises to the LGBTQ community prior to his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States.

Letter:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Open+Letter+to+Barack+Obama

Signature page:
http://jointheimpact.com/2009/01/doma-protest-signature-drive-411/

[Iggo]

26. Kick.

B-)

[keepCAblue]

27. kick n/t

[Rhythm]

28. Kicked

:kick:

[RetiredTrotskyite]

29. Kicked n/t

[keepCAblue]

30. kick n/t

[Christian73]

31. This may sound whiney

but why schedule this in January? It's likely to be freezing cold, if not snowing, sleeting, etc in the NorthEast, which will definitely limit the number of attendees, particularly older people and couples with kids.

[keepCAblue]

32. You're right. It sounds whiney.

so what would you suggest, holding it in August, months and months AFTER Obama's inauguration?

The point is to keep the momentum high in the aftermath of Prop 8 and all the other anti-gay legislation that passed on Nov. 4th. The other point is to coincide this particular protest--repealing DOMA and addressing all the other promises Obama made us during his campaign--with Obama's inauguration.

If a little cold weather is enough to discourage people from standing up for their rights--after all the outrageous assaults on our humanity as occurred on Nov. 4th--then we are a sorry bunch, indeed.

[Christian30]

34. Since you're in California...

and wouldn't have to brave the cold, your post is a snarky for my taste. I protested the Iraq War in February in NYC and it was about 20 degrees here then. But the cold definitely kept many, many people inside, particularly those with children and the elderly.

As it stands, this protest is BEFORE the inauguration - so who are we protesting? The Bush administration? And, short of the gay community taking up arms against the White House, DOMA isn't going to be a blip on the radar for the Obama administration until the economy is in some semblance of recovery. So having this in April or June (which would coincide with the 40th anniversary of STonewall) makes a lot more sense and will lead to much greater turn out.

[keepCAblue]

35. All I can remember about the prop 8 campaign...

in the days leading up to the CA Nov 4th election, in the torrential rain, gale wind and bitter cold, were the legions of Prop 8 supporters--men, women and yes their children--all dressed in yellow rain gear and holding their putrid yellow and blue YES ON 8 signs, jumping up and down, while laughing and smiling...

The rain, the wind, the bitter cold did not deter them. Perhaps that contributed to their "win". If our community and our allies cannot be even half as determined, then how can we ever win this battle?

That is the bare and simple truth. If you want to read "snarky" into this, be my guest, but that is your reading, not my intention.

[Not Me]

33. It's gonna be in the low 80's in Orlando...

come on down, I'll buy the first beer.