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Links for Teh Oppressed OMG

Originally posted October 7, 2003:

This is for John, because he yelled at me. :)

Okay. This is the National Marriage Week Proclamation, which in case you didn't know, begins on the anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death. I fully expect that by this point there is not a single person on my friends list or my friends-of list who has not read this.

Edit: I would also just like to point out

thebratqueen's commentary on how anti-gay the rhetoric on marriageprotectionweek.com actually is: Their efforts are intended to force, by law, 97% of Americans to bow down to the desires of the approximately 3% who are homosexuals.

My first impulse is not even to dignify it with comment because it is SO repulsive that the very act of saying "this is repulsive" implies that there's some kind of argument that could be made about it, that there is some sort of reasonable expectation that other people would find it in some way defensible. There *is* no argument. This is indefensible. This is fascist rhetoric. This is an insult to the memory of Matthew Shepard. This is an insult to every single person in America, and an insult to me personally, as a child of a single mom who was raised by my mother and my grandmother in a wonderful, blessed family structure. I don't feel it necessary to say how horrid it is. It is so glaringly obvious I don't feel it needs to be dignified with a discussion.

So instead I will simply point to what Jen said, because, Dude. Amen.

Now. I am going to herd you all over to John's journal out of fairness, because he has made a nice and tidy list of things you can do to speak out, for all those of you who feel compelled to do so. However, I have to say that while it's fun and motivational, I really feel it defeats the purpose to be making livejournal rants and livejournal icons, ONLY because dude, face it. We're all liberals here. We all hate Bush. I have yet to experience the shock of seeing a single person on my friends list come out as an openly conservative supporter of this administration. I will be *extremely* surprised if anyone, anyone at all, who reads my journal falls into that category. It doesn't make any sense to me to preach to the choir.

So instead of us all shouting at each other--my head hurts-- here are some ways to preach instead to the rest of the cold cruel utterly DELUDED world, and those utterly deluded people who are making the rules around this mess of a country.

If you live in California--go exercise your right to vote. Preferably not for Arnie.

Promote and support Marriage Equality Week from the 12th to the 19th. Thanks to Kash for the link. :)

If you haven't already done so, go to www.dontamend.com and sign the petition pledging not to vote for anyone who supports the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.

If you haven't already done so, go to Lambda International and print out a copy of the Marriage Resolution. Fill it out and fax it or email it back to Lambda at marriage@lambdalegal.org. And while you're at it, make extra copies of it and give it to your friends. Leave copies lying around in strategic places where strangers can see it--your public library, for example, or the computer labs in your school.

If you haven't already done so, go to www.millionsformarriage.com and sign their national petition urging unity and solidarity in the fight to legalize gay marriage. This is also a *commitment* to fighting the fight. Mean it before you sign it.

The Human Rights Campaign has set up a site where you can communicate your disgust with President Bush directly. I will quote from their direct emailing list:

"Please act right now. Ask President Bush to reconsider his endorsement of "Marriage Protection Week". Tell him that this is a false and misleading campaign to 'protect' families by fostering discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. Ask him to oppose any attempts to build discrimination into the U.S. Constitution."

Call the White House. The White House switchboard is (202) 456-1414.

Call Congress. The Congressional switchboard is (202) 224-3121.

Contact your state and local officials. People for the American Way has a nifty little contact database that lets you contact everybody from the President to your local elections authority.

Contact the Coalition to Protect Marriage and yell at them. A bunch. *Especially* if you are a member of, an affiliate of, or a constituent of any of the following groups which comprise this organization. I know

patchfire and I aren't the only Southern Baptists on Livejournal who are outraged by this. Take a good look at this list. I've linked directly to their contact pages below. Hell, even if you *aren't* affiliated with them, email them.

American Association of Christian Schools
American Cause
American Family Association (and as a bonus, check out their subsidiary group NoGayMarriage.com. Ugh, I HATE the AFA, I really, really do.
American Values Institute
Bott Broadcasting
Christian Coalition
Citizens for Community Values
Concerned Women for American (scroll all the way to the bottom, past their "11 ways to fight the homosexual agenda" and their "15 reasons to oppose sexual orientation codes in schools" articles.)
Eagle Forum (email eagle@eagleforum.org)
Faith2Action
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family. (Another group I absolutely loathe.)
Free Congress Foundation
Gideon Christian Fellowship Church--New Orleans, LA. Pastored by the Rev. Willie Wooten. Give them a call at (504) 947-9781. :D
Home School Legal Defense Association
INSP TV Network (the Inspiration Network.)
National Religious Broadcasters
Prison Fellowship Ministries and their Wilberforce Forum
Religious Freedom Coalition
Southern Baptist Convention. Sigh. Their site seems to be totally non-functional at the moment, hopefully for the reason that it has been taken over by a horde of angry liberal christians. If any of you are a member of a Southern Baptist church, *please* contact that church and let them know how you feel.
Thomas Road Baptist Church. This would be Jerry Falwell's church, folks. I really really hope none of you attend. :D
World Magazine. (This appears to be such a radical conservative magazine that it's practically a tabloid.)

Educate yourself. Check out the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's findings and opinions on same-sex marriage. If you're looking for an excellent argument about why religion has absolutely no place in the question of legal marriage, check out this article: "It's Time to Privatize Marriage" by Wendy McElroy.

If you're one of those people with more money than I have, then check out Freedom to Marry and their Partners, and consider making a donation to any of these coalitions.

Explore People for the American Way's listing of progressive gay rights organizations. Includes community, state, and national organizations. Just reading about some of these groups, such as the Marcus Wayman Memorial organazation, is mobilizing. You guys from Boston--now would be a great time to think about joining The Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts.

Thank God for Cafepress and freedom of speech. Order Black Thursday's "Support Gay Marriage" tees. Check out Activist Gear's entire anti-Bush selection, though they don't have gay activism slogans. If you're a member of a heterosexual family unit, our own Dionne has set up a really kickass cafepress shop for heterosexual families to voice their support for ALL kinds of family structures. In addition, check out Over the Rainbow's bumper sticker collection. Browse through the top-100 t-shirt stores and find a political statement that's right for you, and then wear that sucker all over town.

And while you're at it, don't forget to order your Republicans for Voldemort t-shirt.