It is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Loving, committed lesbian and gay couples can legally marry in California.

Today, the California Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision struck down the state’s discriminatory marriage laws banning marriage for same-sex couples. This historic decision is a huge victory for all Californians who cherish fairness and opportunity.

But the right wing is already poised to take it away.

They have submitted what appear to be enough signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that, if passed, would nullify today’s landmark victory.

We need your help to preserve the right for ALL loving couples to marry in California. Equality for All is a coalition of organizations working to defeat this initiative. Please contribute to their campaign fund today.

Two people in a committed, trusting and loving relationship deserve the dignity and support that comes with marriage. The Court did its job today — to ensure that all Californians are treated fairly and equally under the law.

What is fair simply does not matter to the right wing extremists who want to deny equality to same-sex couples and all LGBT Californians. They have already poured $2 million dollars into placing the constitutional amendment on the ballot. They are talking about spending $10 million more to pass it in November.

Equality For All needs your help to raise the millions needed to fight back and speak directly to the voters. Same-sex couples just won the right to marry. Don’t let the right wing take it away. Contribute now to Equality For All!

Equality For All has been at the forefront of the fight for fairness and equality. The coalition has talked to hundreds of thousands Californians about this initiative and the harm it could cause for millions of California families. Equality For All has mobilized thousands volunteers and gathered over 76,000 signatures opposing the initiative. This is just the beginning.

It’s critical we continue to build the campaign to fight this initiative. After you’ve made a contribution, please forward this message to 5 of your friends today.

Today is a joyous one for all of us. Now the fight goes on to preserve the opportunity for everyone to realize their hopes and dreams by being able to marry the person they love. We can’t let the extremists take that away.

Andy

P.S. There are community events being held across the state to celebrate our historic victory in our fight for equality and fairness for all. To find events in your area and to learn more about the Court decision, please visit the Equality California website.

The clock is ticking down on the California Supreme Court’s ruling on whether same-sex couples can marry. The Court heard oral arguments on March 4 of this year and can issue a decision between now and June 2.

Meanwhile, anti-gay groups aren’t waiting on the decision to mobilize. They’ve reportedly gathered enough signatures for a November ballot measure that would write discrimination into the California Constitution by barring same-sex couples from marriage.

They’re gearing up for a fight. Let’s not give them the tools to fight it.

In our ongoing struggle for equality, our community has always responded to the challenges and opportunities before us with both tenacity and strategic savvy.

In 1969, a small band of LGBT people in New York took a bold stance of resistance against habitual police harassment — and spawned a movement.

In 1988, National Coming Out Day was founded in Los Angeles to recognize that a life lived in the closet is fundamentally more dangerous than living openly and honestly as an LGBT person.

Through the history of our movement, we’ve calibrated our actions and response to the needs of the community and to the politics of the times. Now, as we await the ruling from the state Supreme Court, we must ask ourselves: How do we present an honest and accurate picture of our community to California?

Because that picture will inform how people think and feel about the Court’s decision.

Polling research consistently shows that 20- and 30-something Californians are more accepting of marriage for same-sex couples. Then there are people who are adamantly opposed to any measure of equal protection for LGBT people.

But there is also an extremely important group of voters who feel genuinely conflicted on the marriage issue. These fence-sitters are very supportive of workplace non-discrimination policies. Some support civil unions. But they stop short of embracing full marriage rights for same-sex couples.

This is because, like most everyone else, they have a deeply held idea about what marriage means to them. These values give marriage a particular cultural and personal significance in ways that other issues don’t.

To win in November, we will need to win over the support of those undecided voters.

So when the state’s highest court announces its ruling, what do you do?

Express your joy — or your frustration — with dignity and resoluteness. If we win, history will be made, and we will bear witness to a huge sea change in our culture and in the lives of people we know and love. Our response needs to match this moment. Let’s play our own hand instead of playing into someone else’s.

Win or lose, contact ten individuals — friends, family, co-workers — in your personal network and tell them what the ruling means to you. Nothing hits home like a message delivered by someone close to you.

Go public. Write a letter to the editor in your local paper. The letters page attracts more eyeballs than many other sections of the paper. Blog or comment on the Internet. Make your views part of the public debate.

Join the fight against hate. Equality for All, the coalition-led effort against the constitutional amendment measure, needs your help. If you have money to give, give it. The battle for California’s vote will be costly, and every dollar counts. If you have time to spare, spare it. Fight for a California that stands up for fairness and freedom. The freedom to realize our hopes and dreams. The opportunity to marry the person we love.

One of the great things about California is that we don’t let history write our future. One of the great things about the LGBT community is that we have each other’s interests at heart. Because, at the end of the day, we’re all in this together. We rise and fall based on our ability to stand together to make the change we want to see in the world.

In less than 20 days, these two tributaries — the future of our community and the larger community of Californians — will meet. The impending ballot measure all but ensures even more perilous water ahead. Let’s make sure that we harness our power to keep moving forward.

By:

• Oscar De La O, President & Chief Executive Officer, Bienestar
• Maya Harris, Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California
• Dr. Delores A. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer, The San Diego LGBT Community Center
• Lorri L. Jean, Chief Executive Officer, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
• Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
• Geoffrey Kors, Executive Director, Equality California
• Andy Wong, Director, API Equality

This is it. We need you to act now. No more dress rehearsals.

With just a few weeks left to qualify, well-funded anti-LGBT organizations are paying people to gather signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the November 2008 ballot that would permanently exclude same-sex couples from marriage in California.

API Equality and a broad network of national and state organizations are working with the Equality for All campaign to educate Californians and encourage them not to sign onto this discriminatory and destructive petition. This is really coming down to the wire. They claim to have 881,000 signatures out of the 1.1 million they need. We have the proponents of this amendment on the run and we can keep this off the ballot if we all get out there NOW.

Can we count on you to help stop this attack on our community? If you would like to volunteer, please visit www.equalityforall.com and join the “Rapid Response” team. Please sign up today!

The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Marriage Cases on Tuesday, March 4, from 9 a.m. to noon. Community members can check out a live web and broadcast of the arguments on the California Channel. A ruling by the court is expected within 90 days. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

The anti-LGBT folks are at it again! They’ve recently hired signature collectors to circulate a petition that would ban marriage equality in California’s state constitution. Although they’ve threatened to place an anti-marriage equality measure on the ballot for years now, they actually have the money to back up their effort this time. API Equality will be coordinating with the broader statewide Equality for All campaign to counter any such measure.

In the meantime, there is something that you can do immediately to help — paid signature gatherers are already out collecting signatures, and we need people to watch for them as they are shopping. Visit your nearest Target, for example. If people are gathering signatures, go up and talk to them. Professional signature gatherers typically have no stake in the issues, so they’ll be happy to talk with you. Be friendly, walk up to them, and ask if they are collecting signatures for a marriage measure.

If they say yes, say, “Oh, great! May I look at it?” Then read it and get a sense of what it is. Then go further and ask the signature gatherers how it’s going, how much they are getting paid for the marriage measure petition, and how does that compare with what they’re getting paid for the others. Gatherers are typically very happy to provide this kind of info. Also, note whether they are also collecting signatures for the parental notification measure. Once you have done this, make notes so you won’t forget.

If you have anything to report, especially from areas with high API or immigrant populations, please e-mail Andy Wong at awong [at] caasf [dot] org.

Please stay tuned for other ways you can get involved!

API Equality has a new website, and we couldn’t be happier. The process has been a year in the making, and we’re glad it’s done (well, almost done). There are still a few things that need to be worked out, but that’s to be expected. Make sure to check in often; the site will be updated frequently. Huzzah!