Advance Equal Rights With the Click of Your Camera
After the disastrous No on 8 campaign (which Robin Tyler and I talked about), I’m really glad to see cool new grassroots sites like this one launched by my buddy Rick Garman.
Here’s a little background about this important site and how you can help:
How did you come up with the idea for Citizens for Equality and the “We Are” Campaign?
RICK: I actually came up with the idea of an elected body of representatives for the gay community a long time ago when I got frustrated with what I saw as a lack of true leadership and leaders. But it was what I believe was a disorganized and poorly run campaign against Proposition 8 (along with my questions about whether gay marriage is the actual battle we should be putting all of our resources and energy behind) that made me finally do something about it.
The “We Are” campaign became the launching pad for Citizens For Equality as a way to get people involved and engaged. I got that idea from the sorryeverybody.com website where people sent in pictures of themselves with sign apologizing to the works for the 2004 election of George bush.
I love that all the images use the words, “We Are” — why did you choose that language?
I wanted “We Are” for it’s positivity. To show the world that we are just like everyone else. We are doctors and lawyers, mothers and fathers, husbands, wives, strong, weak, young, old, worried about the economy, worried about the environment, bowlers, card players, Christian, Jewish… We are human and if people can see that, they may be a little less inclined to do things like vote yes on Prop 8. Imagine hundreds, thousands…. More… of those photos saying We Are… What a statement that will make!
What are you asking folks to do?
People can get involved in a variety of ways. They can send in a picture through the website and encourage others to do the same. All of the instructions and guidelines plus a bunch of suggestions are on the site. And remember, our straight friends can participate too. People can also join the organization by filling out a simple form.
We are also actively seeking people to be on the steering committee that will set up the elections for (hopefully) late 2009 and people will be able to register and vote for their representatives and on other issues. We’ll be seeking candidates and advisors also of course. But the best way to stay informed is to join on the website.
