Come Together
Groups join forces to support marriage-equality legislation in the District
”Our Time is Now,” according to a call to action by several local GLBT groups seeking marriage equality.
”It is an invitation for all the gay and lesbian organizations in the city to come together to plan how we’re going to organize to support the marriage-equality legislation that’s coming up pretty soon,” says Rev. Monique Ellison of the upcoming Sept. 30 Convocation for Marriage Equality, a call to action.
”Councilmember David Catania (I-At large) has already promised to put the legislation forth, and we’ve promised to support it,” says Ellison, adding that Catania has implied he will present the legislation sometime before the Sept. 30 event.
Ellison says the event is also going to feature three local couples who are scheduled to speak about why marriage equality in D.C. is important to them.
”They’ve either had to go somewhere else to get married and are grateful being able to have their marriage recognized in the District and what that means for them, or they want to get married in the District, so they’re waiting for this legislation to pass.”
The groups behind the effort — the Gertrude Stein Club, Log Cabin Republicans, Gay District, and the Maryland Black Family Alliance, among others — have been planning the event for the past two months.
”We started as the group of people that were going to Advisory Neighborhood Commission meetings. When we heard definitely that the legislation was coming, we were trying to figure out a good way to support it.”
It’s also going to be learning experience for those who want to contribute to the fight for marriage equality, but don’t know how.
”We’ll give the folks who come some tools to support the legislation,” she says. ”There will be a lobby day coming up and two City Council hearings.
”We’re going to be preparing people to do the grassroots groundwork of talking to their neighbors, to City Council, even to their pastors. We’re giving people talking points about how to talk to friends, family, neighbors and people at church about marriage equality.”
For more information about the Sept. 30 Convocation for Marriage Equality, beginning at 7 p.m. at the True Reformer Building, 1200 U St. NW, visit www.dcourtimeisnow.org.
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