Family Pride’s Blog

10 years of work :: 10 years of change :: 10 years closer to equality

Freedom to Marry Week 2007, February 11-17, is fast approaching. This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of a week which has grown from year to year, coast to coast, to highlight the need for marriage equality in our country. In the last ten years, we’ve seen great change and progress in our movement for equality, but we all know that there remains a great deal of work to do.

Same sex couples with children suffer unique challenges in connection with their exclusion from the rights and responsibilities that come with marriage. All families should enjoy the rights to keep our families safe, healthy, and secure for their futures.

Freedom to Marry Week offers an opportunity to engage your family, friends and neighbors in this important movement for fairness and equality for all of our families. Every year, right around Pres. Lincoln’s Birthday and Valentine’s Day, gay and non-gay people around the country gather in living rooms, rectories, parks and civic halls to celebrate our lives, our loves, our families and the victories of our movement from the year before.

Freedom to Marry Day, Sunday, February 11th, is a day to celebrate and share our stories, reflect on the values of equality and love, while also engaging our neighbors in the movement for equality and fairness. So, how can you become more involved? Below are a few ideas:

1. Learn the importance of storytelling and share your story at our Story Center. Hearing the stories of real people and how the denial of marriage makes a difference in their everyday lives, and the lives of their kids and loved ones, is the most effective way to help people understand how important ending discrimination in marriage is to millions of people across the country.
2. Write to family and friends telling them why you care about the freedom to marry, and asking them to care, too. Review our Sample Letter which you can use as a template to reach out to your circle of friends, acquaintances and fellow citizens in asking for their understanding and support in the fight against discrimination.
3. Contact your national and local elected representatives, urging them to support marriage equality and asking them to defend against any attempts to amend your state constitution or the U.S. Constitution.
4. Sign the Marriage Resolution, and share this resource as a tool to spark conversation about marriage equality.

In addition, in honor of this year’s 10th Anniversary, there are 3 new ways to get involved: a Photo contest, Video contest & special Mini-Grants for nonprofits.

Need more ideas? You can host a local event, have a house party, start a conversation at your house of worship, ask your library, bookseller or book group to read and discuss Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People’s Right to Marry, have a picnic or party where diverse couples - gay and non-gay - and their children can come together, talk about how they can get involved and celebrate each other.

Freedom to Marry Week is filled with events, including those specifically targeted to diverse families including Mombian.com’s Freedom to Marry Blog Carnival, a play celebrating marriage equality in Philadelphia, and a slate of events bound to please all audiences in Houston, Texas. In order to learn more about Freedom to Marry Week and get involved, or plan your own event, visit Freedom to Marry’s website for resources and schedules.

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