With the truly odious decision upholding Proposition 8, three things are now very clear:
1. California no longer recognizes equal rights.
2. California’s constitution is totally broken.
3. It is time for ALL of us to fight back.
The Courage Campaign, where I work as Public Policy Director, exists to respond to all three of those things.
We are going to work with our partners in the marriage equality movement in the effort to repeal Proposition 8 at the ballot box. We are going to restore equal rights to all Californians. And we’re going to fix our broken constitutional system to ensure this kind of thing never happens again. Below I explain what you can do to help.
(Note: thanks to Adam Green for his comments at Open Left on our online organizing work)
82.5% of Courage Campaign members voted to go to the ballot in November 2010 to repeal Prop 8. As a result, the Courage Campaign is announcing today its strong support for a 2010 initiative, while respecting that partner organizations are still discussing and deliberating this very important question. No matter when exactly we go to the ballot, we have to make sure that THIS time we get it right.
The first thing we want to do is take our message to the people. The No on 8 campaign never showed the voters of California the people who are affected by this – the tens of thousands of same-sex couples. The first step toward repeal is to show Californians who has been victimized.
It’s time to go on offense. To be fearless in our fight for equality. Starting right now. We are launching this provocative new TV ad in the spirit of Harvey Milk’s call to “come out, come out wherever you are” and proudly tell the stories of the people most affected by the passage of Prop 8 — in moving images set to the beat of Regina Spektor’s beautiful song, “Fidelity.” (See the top of the post for that video.)
And en Español:
If you want more people to see it — contribute $25, $50, $100, $250 (or as much as you can afford) to expand our ad buy immediately in Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.
But that’s just a start. To repeal Prop 8 we have to work our asses off to organize ahead of a repeal vote. We’re asking folks to take this pledge to do so and gather 1 million for equality:
We, the undersigned, are united in our refusal to accept a California where discrimination is enshrined in our state’s constitution.
We pledge to repeal Prop 8 and restore marriage equality to California.
What does this mean? What are we planning to do?
The Courage Campaign has taken a lead role in the fight to repeal Proposition 8, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Californians to sign petitions, organize local media events and share their stories. Since January, the Courage Campaign has been training and empowering marriage equality activists across the state at “Camp Courage” training events as well as building 24 “Equality Teams” across California — serving the organizations and individuals that are fueling the movement toward marriage equality.
Here’s how it works:
Conducting Intensive Training: The Courage Campaign is leading the effort to train volunteers to become field organizers through a program called Camp Courage. Modeled after Camp Obama, these intensive one or two-day programs have been instrumental in channeling the enthusiasm of activists into effective action. More than 700 activists have been trained in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego and Oakland. Seven more Camp Courage trainings are planned, with a minimum of one per month for the next year. Camp Courage will next be in Sacramento and East Los Angeles.
http://www.couragecampaign.org…
Coordinating Online: The Courage Campaign is using the same online organizing tools the Obama campaign used to contact, identify, and persuade voters (Blue State Digital and the Voter Activation Network). The project aims to put well-supported voter file technology and voter contact tools directly in the hands of marriage equality activists. The shared database of the VAN, as well as the tools found at the Courage Campaign’s Equality Hub, will allow for coordinated field efforts to maximize one-on-one contact with voters.
http://www.couragecampaign.org…
Mobilizing Volunteers: For the past two months, volunteer organizers have been talking with voters one-on-one in 15 counties, including 7 in the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills – counties where Prop 8 won significantly. So far, these Equality Teams have walked in more than 30 canvasses statewide, with more taking place every weekend. These teams will be the backbone of any future campaign efforts.
http://www.couragecampaign.org…
Building for the Long-Term: The Courage Campaign is dedicated to building a permanent online and offline progressive political infrastructure. We have full-time field staff located across California supporting the efforts of 24 volunteer Equality Teams.
Partnering with Progressive Organizations: The Courage Campaign also has worked with several people and organizations that have become lead sponsors of Camp Courage, including the Human Rights Campaign, CREDO Mobile, Honor PAC and the Dolby Family. The Courage Campaign has also partnered with nearly 100 progressive organizations to promote Meet in the Middle for Equality, a major rally that will take place in Fresno the first Saturday after the California Supreme Court rules on the legal challenges to Proposition 8.
http://www.meetinthemiddle4equ…
The Courage Campaign believes that by training community organizers and sharing resources like staff support and access to the voter file, we can win — not just in Los Angeles, or San Francisco, but in the heartland of California.
This isn’t the Courage Campaign’s movement. It’s your movement. It’s our movement. We’re just here to help.
We’re going to repeal Prop 8. We’re going to restore equal rights. We’re going to fix what is broken here in California. And “we” equals you and me – ALL of us.
The time to act is now.