Exclusive Interview: Video: Evan Wolfson of Freedom To Marry

The Bilerico Project
February 10, 2010
Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, sits down with Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project at Creating Change 2010 to talk about marriage equality and why he believes it's the key to full equality. [Link]

Michael Crawford to join Freedom to Marry as Director of New Media

Metro Weekly

February 3, 2010
Michael Crawford, co-founder of DC for Marriage and chair of the organization during its fight for marriage equality in the District, announced last week that he would leave Washington for New York City, where he'll serve as director of new media for Freedom to Marry. Freedom to Marry Executive Director, Evan Wolfson said, ''I have worked with Michael on the fight to win marriage in [D.C.], and have really admired the work he's done, particularly in raising the visibility of African-American families and voices in support of marriage.'' [Link]

Countdown to Freedom to Marry Week 2010

Events Planned Across the Country to Celebrate Victories and
Continue the Fight

For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2010, New York, NY

(New York, February 2, 2010)— With the 13th annual Freedom to Marry Week, February 8-14th, just 6 days away, the number of events scheduled across the country continues to grow.

“Every year, right around President Lincoln's birthday and Valentine's Day, symbolizing equality and love, supporters of the freedom to marry take action and promote conversations about why marriage matters to American families, gay and non-gay alike," said Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry. "This year, Freedom to Marry's partner organizations across the country - from Rhode Island to Washington state - are organizing Freedom to Marry Week rallies, house parties, film screenings, and lobby days. At Freedom to Marry, we will unveil an updated website and new social-media tools to serve the marriage movement and help build a majority for marriage nationwide."

Freedom to Marry Week events across the country will include:

The True Stories Project: Screenings of Inlaws and Outlaws across Washington, February 5-14, 2010
Freedom to Marry Pennsylvania: March and Rally at the Statehouse in Harrisburg on February 8, 2010
Equality Maryland: Lobby Day in Annapolis on February 9, 2010
One Iowa: Lobby Day at the Capitol in Des Moines on February 10, 2010
Marriage Equality Rhode Island: Rally for Marriage Equality in Providence on February 10, 2010
Outfront Minnesota: Freedom to Marry Rally in Saint Paul on February 11, 2010
Equality March Texas and Queer Liberaction: Freedom to Marry Rally in Dallas on February 12, 2010
Lambda Legal: 9th Annual Freedom to Marry Reception in Chicago on February 18, 2010

For more event listings and to learn more about Freedom to Marry Week, visit: http://www.freedomtomarry.org/get_involved/freedom_to_marry_week_2010.php

PRESS CONTACT:
Sean Eldridge
Director of Communications, Freedom to Marry

sean@freedomtomarry.org

Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Launched in 2003, Freedom to Marry is headed by Evan Wolfson, nationally recognized as a central "architect of the marriage equality movement." Freedom to Marry guides and focuses this social justice movement on a nationwide level, serving as a strategy and support center for national, state, and local partners, a catalyst that drives and shapes the national debate on marriage equality, and an alliance-builder fostering support from non-gay allies.

Concerns about gay couples raising kids still main argument of freedom to marry opponents after fourteen years

The Sacramento Bee
January 30, 2010
The Prop 8 trial ended its witness testimony in San Francisco this week. The defense argued that even if Proposition 8 harms gays and lesbians and any children they may have, voters had a right to exclude gays from marriage because of concerns, despite numerous studies to the contrary, that children are best raised by their biological mothers and fathers. "Fourteen years later [than the 1996 Hawaii freedom to marry case] and tens of millions of dollars later, they [the opposition] haven't come up with anything else," said Evan Wolfson of the group Freedom to Marry. [Link]

Hawaii postpones civil unions bill indefinitely

LGBT POV
January 29, 2010
Last year the civil unions bill passed the Hawaii House by a vote of 33-to 17. One week ago, the Senate passed the bill 18-7. But on Friday the House voted to postpone indefinitely the civil unions bill for gay and heterosexual couples. Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, who was co-counsel in the historic Hawaii marriage case, Baehr v. Miike, which started the whole thing, said:

Losing ground? No way. We don’t win every battle, and we definitely need to strengthen our reaching out to more Americans to bring them into our cause (which is what Freedom to Marry’s expansion is all about). But after a decade of inaction, we got both houses of the Hawaii legislature to pass a civil union bill, just not in sync — and remember, when we started this movement in Hawaii, there was no place in the world where same-sex couples could marry. Now we’ve got five states, our nation’s capital, eight countries, and more shimmering within reach.

The Democratic president [Bill Clinton] who signed the so-called “DOMA” as we were doing the trial in Hawaii now supports the freedom to marry and has called for “DOMA”’s repeal, as did the Republican congressman [Bob Barr] who wrote it.

More than a hundred million Americans now live in a state that provides some level of statewide recognition of same-sex couples and their families — up from virtually zero a decade ago.

We have a lot more to do, as Freedom to Marry works to build a majority for marriage, win more states, and build toward a federal victory…but by any historical measure, we’ve gained and are gaining ground, and the future is ours. [Link]

Rewind: Evan Wolfson and Rick Jacobs discuss Prop 8, Freedom to Marry

365GAY.com
January 29, 2010
On Thursday, 365gay readers had the opportunity to chat live with Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry and Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign about the Prop 8 trial and what’s next for gay marriage. Both Wolfson and Jacobs stressed that we need to continue to tell our personal stories and come out to family, friends and strangers. If this case winds up before the Supreme Court, we are more likely to win if we have helped turn the tide of public opinion. Learn more and read a transcript of the entire discussion here.

Statement from Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, on the President's State of the Union Address to Congress

President Obama Reaffirms Commitment to Ending Military's Anti-Gay Policy

“An Important Show of Support for Gay and Lesbian Americans, But Short of Addressing the Government's Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples"

For Immediate Release:
January 27, 2010, New York, NY

New York, January 27, 2010 - Statement by Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry following President Obama's State of the Union address to Congress:

"President Obama’s pledge to end discrimination against gay people serving in the military, repeated in tonight’s State of the Union, is an important show of support for gay and lesbian Americans as well as a boost to our national security. Unfortunately, the President failed to address the government's discrimination against same-sex couples in his speech. The President spoke about the concerns of Americans across the country, from unemployment to access to good schools and adequate healthcare. Millions of gay and lesbian Americans share these same concerns and struggles, but also bear the extra burden of exclusion from marriage and the denial of legal protection in the workplace and at home. Particularly in a time of immense economic challenges, government should not put obstacles in the path of any committed couple seeking to take care of their loved ones. Freedom to Marry calls on the President to keep his promises and ensure the stability and security of all American families by working with Congress to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would end the government's policy of singling out married same-sex couples for discriminatory treatment under federal law. We also urge the President to keep his repeated promises to work with Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity."

This is a Witness for the Defense?

Prop 8 Trial Tracker
January 27, 2010
Brian Leubitz discusses "expert" Prop 8 witness, David Blankenhorn, who was taken apart by David Boies during cross-examination. "If you'd like to see what Rick was talking about with Blankenhorn’s demeanor, check out this video of a gay marriage debate between Evan Wolfson, of Freedom to Marry, and Mr. Blankenhorn...Keep in mind, Wolfson wasn’t cross examining him, and Boies was nowhere in site." [Link]

Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson Reflects on a Year of Victories & Defeats

edgeBoston
January 25, 2010
Evan Wolfson, who began and heads Freedom to Marry, sees the glass that was 2009 as definitely half full. Despite setbacks, marriage equality continued to gain acceptance--a trend he expects will continue this year as Freedom to Marry itself expands its operations . "As we enter 2010 we clearly feel like we have to up our game," he acknowledged. "All of us who are working to build a majority for marriage need to work together better, need to welcome new people to this cause, and need to channel energy and creativity into the actions needed at both the state and federal level." [Link]

Evan Wolfson: 14 Years After Hawaii: New Freedom to Marry Case in California; Same Old, Same Old From Opponents

The Huffington Post
January 21, 2010
Evan Wolfson summarizes advances in the marriage landscape from the historic Baehr v. Miike case in Hawaii in 1996 (which was televised on Court TV), for which he was co-counsel, to the current Prop 8 trial going on in California. One thing that he notes hasn't advanced is the opposition's ability to defend the denial of marriage with anything better than what they had in 1996:

One other thing that hasn't changed since Hawaii is the failure of the anti-gay side to come up with anything better to defend the denial of marriage than they had in 1996. In a way, this is surprising, given that their lead attorney, Charles Cooper, was also the hired-gun brought in by the state of Hawaii to shore up its case in 1990's. It's not as if Cooper hasn't had time to think of an argument - so an exchange he had with Judge Walker was quite telling: Judge Walker asked, "What would be the harm of permitting gay men and lesbians to marry?" Cooper, replied, "Your Honor, my answer is: I don't know ... I don't know." Fundamentally, of course, their inability to defend the denial of marriage with real evidence and logic is not surprising; the reason smart lawyers like Mr. Cooper don't give a better answer to why marriage discrimination should be allowed to continue is that there isn't one. [Link]

Evan Wolfson: A Teachable Moment in Starting Conversations

Freedom to Marry
January 21, 2010
Evan Wolfson:

Freedom to Marry's latest Voice for Equality (drumroll, please)... Cindy McCain. The wife of the 2008 Republican candidate for president came out in support of the freedom to marry, posing for the NOH8 campaign in California. She reminds us that we should write no one off, and owe it to others to start a conversation and ask them for their support. [Link]

Marriage equality advocates will push for change in statehouses as well as in courts

The Washington Post
January 8, 2010
After a stretch in which state legislatures emerged as key battlegrounds for the issue, the courts are now main venues on the horizon. Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, a national marriage equality advocacy group, says that the freedom to marry is a social justice issue that will continue to have setbacks as well as advances - and that advocates will push for change in statehouses as well as in courts. [Link]

New Jersey Senate Refuses to End Exclusion From Marriage, Flunking the Constitutional Command of Equality

Freedom to Marry
January 7, 2010

Lambda Legal and Garden State Equality Going Back to Court to Seek
Freedom to Marry

Statement by Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry, following the New Jersey Senate’s failure to provide equal protection to same-sex couples in accordance with the unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court ruling of 2006:

Today the New Jersey Senate failed to do right by the New Jersey families harmed by exclusion from marriage, and the majority of the New Jersey public who support ending the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Legislators themselves, even opponents, have confirmed that the civil union law does not work to protect and support those families, and is no substitute for the freedom to marry. Freedom to Marry applauds Garden State Equality’s and Lambda Legal’s announcement that they are going back to court to fulfill the constitutional command of equality and secure the freedom to marry for committed couples in New Jersey. [Link]

Gay in 2010: The Decade Ahead

staythirstymedia.com
January 3, 2010
Chris Beakey talks with Evan Wolfson, David Toussaint and Jeff McElhaney about what it's going to take to bring more happiness to more people in the gay community. When asked how long it will take to win the marriage equality battle, Evan Wolfson states, "We will have the freedom to marry within reach nationwide within 10 to 15 years or so, sooner if we work harder and get lucky." [Link]

Marriage was the story of the year in 2009

dc agenda
January 4, 2010
After a stinging defeat in Maine, LGBT rights supporters closed the year with a victory in D.C., as the city legalized the freedom to marry. Supporters of LGBT rights faced many ups and downs in 2009, but no issue proved as tumultuous or gained as much attention as the ongoing fight over marriage rights. And as Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson points out, "There is no marriage without engagement, and there is no way to secure social justice without doing the work." [Link]

When Relationships become personal, Stereotypes fade away

edge Boston
December 28, 2009
Recent high-profile setbacks to marriage equality in places perceived to be liberal (New York, Maine) has been countered by the election of an openly gay woman to the mayorship of Houston, Texas. Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson says, "The fact that an openly gay candidate wins for mayor in the nation’s fourth largest city, in the South, in Texas, shows that when Americans get to know gay people as people, not as stereotypes, their resistance to treating gay people equally reduces." [Link]

A Long Road to Equality

Metro Weekly
December 24, 2009
Marriage equality for gays and lesbians is the latest chapter in the District's history of civil-rights achievements...As Evan Wolfson, the executive director of Freedom to Marry, said, ''It's really hard to overstate the resonance of the nation's capital voting for the freedom to marry and providing the opportunity for the country and the world see families helped and no one hurt when marriage discrimination ends.'' (Link)

'Single Man' highlights gay, family issues

CNN
December 24, 2009
For the gay community the story of a closeted college professor mourning the death of his long-time lover reflects the history of the struggle to be open about homosexuality in the 1960s. The same struggle continues today as the gay community fights for equal rights and laws allowing same-sex marriage. Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson notes:

The silence and the invisibility the film is portraying was in part why Americans didn't understand the need for the freedom to marry when the first cases for the freedom to marry began by 1971 ... I think the film shows the price people pay for silence and it shows the common humanity and invites people to ask themselves: How would I feel if I couldn't acknowledge the love of my life? [Link]

Mayor Signs DC Marriage Law

Gay City News
December 21, 2009
Washington, DC, City Council on December 15 adopted a marriage equality law which was then signed by Mayor Fenty on Thursday. The 11-2 vote in support of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 was identical to the first-round tally on December 1. Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, the leading national marriage equality advocacy group, noted, “Five of seven African-American City Council members on the majority African-American Council supported the freedom to marry, and Mayor Adrian Fenty, also African-American, has promised to sign the bill.” [link]

District of Columbia’s Mayor Fenty Signs Freedom to Marry Bill

Freedom to Marry
December 18, 2009
Progress in Nation’s Capital Carries Great Advances & Momentum of 2009 into 2010

Statement by Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry, following the District of Columbia’s Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signing a freedom to marry bill which received overwhelming support from the DC City Council, a majority African-American council:

With Mayor Fenty’s signature today, the nation’s capital affirms its commitment to being a fair and inclusive city. We now look to Congress to respect the City Council’s overwhelming support, the Mayor’s signature, and the outpouring of support from the citizens of DC. With the freedom to marry, the District of Columbia will be a place that offers more protection and security to all families, making the community stronger for everyone. We call on all supporters to continue to engage their friends and neighbors in conversations about the freedom to marry in the District of Columbia, and across the country, in order to protect this new law.

A special thanks to all of the groups and individuals who worked so hard to bring the freedom to marry to the District of Columbia, especially D.C. for Marriage, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, and the Human Rights Campaign.

[Link]