Angry About Prop 8? Get Involved in New York!

If you’re upset about the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which took away marriage equality for same-sex couples, it’s clear you aren’t alone—just take a look the passionate protests and calls for equality from LGBT people and our allies across the country. Now is the perfect time to channel your anger into productive energy here in New York—because marriage equality could be a reality here in just a matter of months! But it is up us to make it happen.

The Pride Agenda has spent the past five years organizing support around marriage equality—and you should know that our community is winning. We’ve enlisted the support of key ally groups like communities of faith and organized labor, we’ve won the support of the New York State Assembly, and we have a Governor who actively advocates for marriage equality.

Part of this strategy is working with newspapers across New York to editorialize in support of marriage equality. We’ve done this with The New York Times, the Buffalo News, the Albany Times-Union and the Journal News in Hudson Valley. Yesterday the state’s largest Spanish-language newspaper, El Diario La Prensa, wrote a moving editorial in favor of marriage equality. Their argument even criticized staunchly anti-gay State Senator Rubin Diaz for his opposition to marriage equality, saying that “discrimination, whether within or outside of our own communities, on the basis of color, immigration status, gender or sexuality is just not acceptable.”

We want you to join us in this fight to make New York the next state to provide marriage equality for same-sex couples. Below are five things that you can do now to help us win:

• Tell your story—it matters. Talk to your family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday about why marriage equality is important to you. We can make the biggest impact simply by telling our stories and letting those around us know how this issue impacts our lives.

• Keep up the pressure. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In it, talk specifically about how being denied access to marriage affects you and your family. Your perspective matters, whether you are an LGBT person, a parent, a friend, a co-worker or a concerned ally.

• Fight religious bigotry. Active in your church or synagogue? Join Pride in the Pulpit and help build bridges between the LGBT community and religious groups. Already we’ve built deep and broad support for marriage equality within hundreds of faith communities in New York State.

• Make a call today. Contact your State Assemblymember and Senator and let them know that you support marriage equality. They need to hear it from you! You can use our tip sheet for guidance on how best to get your point across. Click here to find contact information for your elected officials.

• Money Matters. Donate to the Pride Agenda—any gift, small or large, goes towards doing the necessary work to build support, lobby, educate and organize.

Click here for even more ways to help win marriage in New York State. Send this email to 8 of your friends to let them know how they can help us win in New York, too!