Voice for Equality: Rev. James Forbes

The Reverend James Forbes is the Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church, an interdenominational (American Baptist and United Church of Christ) church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. He was the first African American minister to lead this multicultural congregation, and served it for 18 years. On June 1, 2007, after 18 years of service, Forbes officially retired from this position to become president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, a national ministry of healing and spiritual revitalization. Forbes hosts the radio program The Time Is Now, which airs weekends on the Air America Radio network. Learn more here.

Rev. Forbes is a proud signer of Freedom to Marry's Marriage Resolution which reads:

Because marriage is a basic human right and an individual choice, RESOLVED, the State should not interfere with same-gender couples who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities, and commitment of civil marriage.

Visit the Marriage Resolution page on our website and sign the Marriage Resolution today!

Freedom to Marry salutes James Forbes as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Rev. Forbes' support inspires you - get involved.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality, Dr. John Corvino's upcoming speaking engagements

JohnCorvino.com

February 3, 2010

Upcoming appearance dates for Freedom to Marry Voice for Equality, Dr. John Corvino:

Feb. 4: Otterbein College, "Born or Made-and What's the Difference?"

Mar. 2: Missouri State University (Springfield), Debate with Glenn Stanton on the Existence of God

Mar. 4: DePauw University (IN), Homosexuality/Morality talk

Mar. 5: University of Lethbridge (AB, Canada), Homosexuality/Morality talk

Mar. 9: St. Olaf College (MN), Marriage Debate with Glenn Stanton

Mar. 30: Millersville University (PA), Marriage Debate with Glenn Stanton

Mar. 31: University of Detroit-Mercy, Marriage Debate with Jeffrey Ventrella

Apr. 6: Drake University (IA), Homosexuality/Morality talk

Apr. 8: NE Pennsylvania Diversity Education Consortium (Wilkes-Barre), Workshop

Apr. 9: Delaware County Community College (PA), Homosexuality/Morality talk

Apr. 20: Wright State University (OH), Homosexuality/Morality talk

[Link]

Voice for Equality: Dr. John Corvino

Dr. John Corvino has been speaking and writing on GLBT issues since the early 1990s. He has educated and entertained professional organizations, government contractors, churches, and hundreds of college and university audiences.

John holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He is the editor of Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality and the author of over 100 articles and opinion pieces, which have appeared in regional and national print media, at the online Independent Gay Forum (www.indegayforum.org), and in numerous academic journals and anthologies.

John’s column “The Gay Moralist” appears every Friday at LOGO Online’s 365gay.com, “America’s Most Read Gay News Source.” His DVD presentation of “What’s Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?” is available at www.gaymoralist.com.

John has been a guest on MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country” and on numerous radio programs. An award-winning teacher, he is also the recipient of a 2004 Spirit of Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council for his work on behalf of GLBT rights. Learn more here.

Freedom to Marry salutes Dr. John Corvino as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Dr. Corvino's support inspires you - get involved.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Don Imus

Don Imus is an American radio host, humorist, writer, and philanthropist. Imus’s sometimes controversial statements and colorful language have often drawn the attention of the press and have gotten him into several well-publicized battles, one of which resulted in his show being pulled from the air. The current version of his nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, returned to television on October 5, 2009 and is currently seen on Fox Business Network from 6:00-9:00 EST Monday-Friday. Learn more here.

On January 27, 2010, Imus in the Morning featured David Boies, co-counsel with Ted Olson for the pro-freedom to marry side in the Prop 8 Trial in California. In the course of the discussion, Don Imus expressed support for the freedom to marry, saying: "I supported—not that it’s important, but I support it [the freedom to marry] on the basis of the philosophy of my friend Kinky Friedman, who thinks that they [gay couples] have a right to be as unhappy…as anybody...It's great that you and Ted are doing this, and I hope you win, good luck." During the interview, Mr. Boies explained the constitutional and civil rights issues at stake in the case. Watch the video of the Don Imus/David Boies interview below:



Freedom to Marry salutes Don Imus as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Mr. Imus' support speaks to you - get involved.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Melissa Harris-Lacewell

Melissa Harris-Lacewell is an American writer, political scientist and an Associate Professor of Politics and African American studies at Princeton University. She grew up in the Virginia cities of Charlottesville and Chester with a black father, the dean of Afro-American affairs at the University of Virginia; and a white mother, who taught at a community college and worked for nonprofits that helped poor communities. “I’ve never thought of myself as biracial,” Harris-Lacewell says. “I’m black.” She is the author of Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought on the methods African Americans use to develop political ideas through ordinary conversations in places like barbershops, churches, and popular culture. Harris-Lacewell's writings have been published in The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Crain's Chicago Business and Newsday. She regularly provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC, and has contributed to other television and print sources. Learn more here.

In a piece she wrote for The Nation in October 2009, Ms. Harris-Lacewell stated:

Today, many same-sex couples in the United States live in a fraught, contingent space of loving attachment, unprotected by state recognition. My fierce commitment to marriage equality derives, in part, from my personal biography as an interracial child, descended from American slaves, and raised in Virginia, beginning less than a decade after the Loving decision. Even though I am heterosexual, marriage equality is personal. I learn from the history of racial and interracial marriage exclusion that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is wrong. [Link]

Freedom to Marry salutes Melissa Harris-Lacewell as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Ms. Harris-Lacewell's support inspires you, get involved!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington is a Greek-American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the liberal news website, The Huffington Post. In 2003 she ran as an independent candidate for Governor in the California recall election. In 2009, Huffington was named as number 12 in Forbes' first ever list of the Most Influential Women In Media. Huffington has written several books including: Maria Callas — The Woman Behind the Legend, Picasso: Creator and Destroyer, and Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe. She has also made a few forays into acting with roles on television shows such as Roseanne, The L Word, Help Me Help You, and the film EdTV. Learn more here.

It was announced on October 14, 2009 that Arianna Huffington would be participating in the Love Unites Shepard Fairey Equality Project, a new marriage equality advocacy project for which 100 celebrities would be signing their names and customizing a Shepard Fairey print titled Defend Equality - Love Unites. Fairey, whose Obama Hope print became the iconic emblem of President Obama’s 2008 campaign, was approached by FAIR, an LGBT grassroots marriage equality organization, to commission an image that would help unite and inspire the marriage equality movement. “I am proud to contribute the Defend Equality Love Unites image to the fight for marriage equality, and commend FAIR for putting this image to good use." The signed prints will be sold in online auctions through December 9, 2009. [Link]

Freedom to Marry salutes Arianna Huffington as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Ms. Huffington's support inspires you - get involved. Click to support the urgent marriage equality effort in New Jersey here!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Triad Equality Alliance

The Triad Equality Alliance (TEA) was founded in March 2004 as part of EqualityNC Project. TEA's mission is to eliminate prejudice and to secure social justice and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people by educating and enlightening the general public about LGBT members of the community and the special issues affecting them. Learn more here.

Since April 15th, 2004, TEA has run a series of highly visible and thought-provoking billboards at the intersection of two large highways between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The billboards have featured short pro-LGBT messages along with pictures of many local LGBT people. The campaign series have included: "Good People," "Valued Members," "All Equal," "Gay Equality," "abOUT Face" and "Long Enough" - see images below:













An example of the many volunteers who have appeared in TEA's billboards are Lennie and Pearl, who have been together for 43 years. Their story, shared on the TEA website, puts the need for equal rights for the LGBT community in sharp focus:

For 43 years we have lived love-filled lives, arrayed with rich experiences, satisfying careers, and supportive family and friends. We have known "togetherness" as a special kind of sharing - ideas, daily habits, foods, likes and dislikes, travels, finances - everything! At the same time, we have maintained great respect for each other’s "individuality." As with most people, we have worked hard, paid taxes, given service to the community, and endeavored to live lives of honesty, integrity and dedication to the greater good. But, unlike most people in the USA, we have been denied equal rights, a concept basic to the principles of our country.

Not content to rest on their laurels, Triad Equality Alliance next has its sites set on radio ads and other media to reach even more people in the future.

Freedom to Marry salutes the Triad Equality Alliance for their brilliant work in delivering effective messages to their North Carolina community that have put a face and personal spin on the marriage equality debate! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If TEA's activism inspires you - get involved. Click to support the urgent marriage equality effort in New Jersey here!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Bill Maher

William "Bill" Maher is an American stand-up comedian, television host, social and political commentator, and author. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and later on ABC. Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary. His commentaries target a wide swath of topics: religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, among many others. Learn more here.

On October 9, 2009, Mr. Maher wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Huffington Post with the headline: New Rule: Everyone Deserves Equal Rights. Included in his remarks:

Tomorrow night President Obama will speak before a gay rights group, and on Sunday there will be a massive gay rally in Washington... Which makes this weekend the perfect time for Obama to announce he's repealing "don't ask, don't tell" and committing to a full-throated endorsement of marriage equality.

He went on to facetiously explain that conservatives are easily distracted and that pushing the freedom to marry to the forefront of political discourse would probably enable the passage of health care reform and climate initiatives - but beneath the humor, his equality message was clear. [Link]

Freedom to Marry salutes Bill Maher as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Mr. Maher's support moves you, take action yourself! Link to No on 1/Protect Maine Equality to find out how you can help with the vital work of preserving marriage equality in Maine!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, was a nightly presence in American homes from 1962 to 1981. He guided viewers through national triumphs and tragedies alike, from moonwalks to war, in an era when network news was central to many people’s lives. He became something of a national institution, with an unflappable delivery, a distinctively avuncular voice and a daily benediction: “And that’s the way it is.”

Along with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC, Mr. Cronkite was among the first celebrity anchormen. In 1995, 14 years after he retired from the CBS Evening News, a TV Guide poll ranked him No. 1 in seven of eight categories for measuring television journalists. He was so widely known that in Sweden anchormen were once called "Cronkiters." Learn more here.

Cronkite, who died on July 17, 2009 at the age of 92, was an advocate for the separation of church and state, and in this capacity he came out squarely against the Defense of Marriage Act and for the right of gay Americans to marry. In a newspaper column he wrote for King Features Syndicate in 2003, when he was 86, Walter Cronkite wrote:

Conservatives, particularly those of the Christian right, are determined that marriage equality must be banned by federal law, even perhaps by amendments to our Constitution.

Massachusetts had just become the first state to legalize marriage equality.

It certainly is the right of those who oppose the freedom to marry to defend, express and even propagandize their beliefs, but is it their right to impose their definition of morality on those who hold opposing views? The answer is a resounding 'no' from the large chorus of those who believe that our individual rights are precious and should not be trampled upon by even those of deep religious convictions, including those in their own churches.

Freedom to Marry salutes "the most trusted man in America," Walter Cronkite, as a Voice for Equality!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Maya Angelou

Hailed as one of the strongest voices in contemporary literature, Maya Angelou has penned countless novels, poems, and plays. Her most famous work, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, chronicles Angelou’s early life and spent two years on the New York Times bestseller’s list. Throughout her illustrious career, Angelou has not hesitated to speak out for civil rights, from the 1960s to the present day.

As the state of New York debated whether or not to grant gay couples the right to marry in June, 2009, Angelou lifted her voice in support of civil rights once more:

“To love someone takes a lot of courage. So how much more is one challenged when the love is of the same sex and the law says, ‘I forbid you from loving this person’?”

Thanks Chaya for this great nomination!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Frank Rich

Frank Rich is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times. In addition to his work at The Times, Mr. Rich has written about culture and politics for many other publications. His childhood memoir, "Ghost Light," was published in 2000 by Random House and as a Random House Trade Paperback in 2001. Mr. Rich has two sons. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, the author and novelist Alex Witchel.

As far back as 2004, Frank Rich has championed the freedom to marry and penned a column in February of that year entitled, “The Joy of Gay Marriage.”

Freedom to Marry salutes Frank Rich as a Voice for Equality.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow does it all; she’s a radio personality, television host, and lively political commentator. Her syndicated talk radio program, The Rachel maddow Show, airs nightly on Air America Radio, and she is also host of a weeknight television show on MSNBC. Maddow, who attended Stanford and Oxford universities, is the first openly lesbian anchor to host a prime-time news program in the United States. She is also the first openly gay American to hold a Rhodes scholarship.

While Maddow refrained from endorsing any candidate in the 2008 election season, she was nonetheless a fierce advocate for LGBT America. On May 23, 2008, while appearing on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Maddow offered the following commentary on the state of marriage equality:

“What is the relationship between the sanctity of a heterosexual marriage with the sanctity, or not, of a gay marriage? I live in Massachusetts, and what we experienced with gay marriage is that all of the anti-gay marriage stuff sort of dissolved and sort of had the air knocked out of it after gay people were allowed to get married because nothing happened to straight people. Straight people’s lives didn’t change. The sky didn’t fall, no meteors, divorce didn’t go up or down, kids were still kids, adults were still adults, pets were still pets. It was all fine, and kind of took the wind out of the argument against [gay marriage].”

We congratulate Rachel Maddow for being a Voice for Equality!

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Voice for Equality: Bernard Whitman

Media commentator and president of Whitman Insight Strategies, Bernard Whitman spoke out for marriage equality in a column in Forbes on April 28, 2008. A frequent commentator on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, his firm conducts public opinion polling for companies, politicians and advocacy groups. In his column, Whitman gave a short history lesson on how the marriage movement developed and concluded with “At the end of the day, marriage equality will come: partly through the courts; partly through the legislative process. More and more community and political leaders will offer their support, and someday soon gays and lesbians all across America will be able to choose get married, or not. Which side of this history do you want to be on?”

We thank Heather nominating Bernard Whitman as a Voice for Equality.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Suze Orman

Suze Orman knows money: this celebrity financial advisor hosts The Suze Orman Show on CNBC and a consecutive six of her books hit the New York Times bestseller list. Fittingly, she's the most successful fundraiser in public television. Also fittingly, her support for marriage equality is financial in nature. In a 2007 interview with the New York Times Magazine, she said that she would want to marry her partner, because,

"It's killing me that we both have millions of dollars in our name. It’s killing me that upon my death, K.T. is going to lose 50 percent of everything I have to estate taxes. Or vice versa."

Megan Kinninger very enthusiastically nominated Suze Orman to be a Voice for Equality.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voices of Equality: John Irving

John Irving’s first novel, SETTING FREE THE BEARS, was published in 1968. THE WATER-METHOD MAN was his second novel (1972), followed by THE 158-POUND MARRIAGE (1974), HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE (1981), CIDER HOUSE RULES (1985), A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY (1989), and A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR (1998) among others. He and his wife, Janet, and their three sons live in southern Vermont.

In March 2009, author John Irving wrote to his friend and fellow author Edmund White and White forwarded that note to his friends including Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry.

Edmund White wrote: Here is a letter to me from the famous (straight) novelist John Irving (The World According to Garp) about the marriage bill in Vermont. He would like you to make it widely available. - Thanks, Edmund White (Excerpt below)

Dear Edmund...Why should it matter to straight couples if gay couples Want to be married? How insecure must heterosexuals be in order to feel threatened by gay marriage? Civil unions aren't good enough -- they're not equal enough!

Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1942. He was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and University of New Hampshire, and also attended the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop where one of his teachers was Kurt Vonnegut.

Thanks to Evan Wolfson for this nomination.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Penny Brown Reynolds

Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, television judge and ordained Baptist minister, has been nominated to be a Voice for Equality.

Judge Penny hosts the nationally syndicated television program "Family Court." Before leaving for television, Judge Penny served as a Georgia state court judge, a Georgia Assistant Attorney General, and prosecutor. Judge Penny is also an ordained Baptist Minister.

In an interview with BlackVoices.com on January 2, 2009, Judge Penny explained that marriage equality is "not an issue of being right or wrong or whether or not you believe the Bible or if God sanctioned unions between same sex; it's an issue of oppression as I see it, both legally and morally. Whenever you take a right away from someone, you are oppressing them."

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver became California's First Lady when her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was elected governor in November 2003. Shriver was a journalist for NBC news until 2004, appearing on the Today Show and serving as a contributor for Dateline NBC.

In an interview with a Los Angeles radio station, Shriver said she was voting against Proposition 8 because "I believe in people's right to choose a partner that they love, and that's a decision that I have come to, and I have felt that way for a long time."

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Voice for Equality: Keith Olbermann

American sportscaster, news anchor, and political commentator. He hosts Countdown with Keith Olbermann, an hour-long nightly news and commentary program on MSNBC. Starting with the 2007 NFL season, Olbermann also has served as a co-host of NBC's Football Night in America.

During his MSNBC show on November 10, 2008, he chastised those who voted for Proposition 8 and asked, "What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?"

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!