Please don’t divorce…" Courage Campaign community photo project

Infamous prosecutor Ken Starr has filed a legal brief — on behalf of the “Yes on 8” campaign — to nullify the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California between May and November of 2008.

It’s time to put a face to Ken Starr’s shameful legal proceedings. To put a face to the 18,000 couples facing forcible divorce. To put a face to marriage equality. Because, gay or straight, YOU are the face of the Marriage Equality Movement.

Please click through the photos in the slideshows below and then submit your own photo, as an individual, a couple or in a group (perhaps with your family over the holidays). Take a picture holding a piece of paper that says “Please don’t divorce us,” “Please don’t divorce my moms,””Please don’t divorce my friends, Dawn and Audrey,” “Please don’t divorce Californians” or whatever you want after “Please don’t divorce…” and send it to: pleasedontdivorce@couragecampaign.org.

• No matter your marital status or sexual orientation, will you share your photo with us, as part of a community photo project?
• If so, please take a picture with a plain 8.5″ by 11″ piece of paper that sends a special message, like “Please don’t divorce us,” “Please don’t divorce my mothers,” “Please don’t divorce my friends, Name and Name,” or “Please don’t divorce Californians.” Print it out, or write it clearly in big, block letters.Then send your pictures to us at:
• PleaseDontDivorce@CourageCampaign.org
• We’ll put all of your pics together in one place and make sure all the right people get the message — the lawyers behind the effort, the press, our friends and neighbors.

If you like this slideshow, please tell your friends about it by clicking here to use our simple and easy invite page.

To support this project or our campaign to repeal Prop 8, please consider making a contribution to the Courage Campaign. Click here to make a timely donation.

Pictures Shared with signs

Pictures shared without signs

More awesome videos from my buddy Sean Chapin

His YouTube Page

Protect the planet from gays, Pope says

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/protect-the-planet-from-gays-pope-says/1394535.aspx

BY JAMES MASSOLA
The Canberra Times

24/12/2008 7:00:00 AM

Saving humanity from homosexuality and transsexuality is as important as saving rainforests, Pope Benedict XVI says.

In his end-of-year address to the Curia, the governing body of the Catholic Church, the Pope said man needed protecting ”from the destruction of himself” and that ”an ecology of the human being” was needed. And the pontiff added that when the Church defended God’s creation ”it does not only defend the earth, water and the air … but [it] also protects man from his own destruction”.

”If tropical forests deserve our protection, humankind … deserves it no less,” he said.

He defended the Church’s right to ”speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected”. Gender theory, which explores sexual orientation and gender identity, could potentially lead to the ”self-destruction” of the human race by blurring the lines between men and women.

The Pope’s comments drew criticism from within church circles and outraged gay groups. A spokesman for the Australia Coalition for Equality, Rod Swift, described them as ”arrant nonsense”. ”It shows the level of desperation in the Catholic Church to try and get its message across, demonising same-sex couples and comparing us to a global man-made environmental disaster. Homosexuality hasn’t destroyed humanity up until now and the rate of homosexuality is not increasing or decreasing.”

Catholic commentator and writer Paul Collins, a former priest, said the comments were ”quite out of character for such an intelligent man”. ”It’s neither fair nor accurate. Climate change and the destruction of rainforests is something that impacts on everybody. It is the most important issue we are facing. To equate homosexuality with it seems to me to be silly,” he said.

Dr Collins said the message might have been aimed at homosexual priests within the Vatican itself. ”If he was addressing his comments to them, well, there are better ways to do it.”

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexuality is not a sin, but that homosexual acts are. Auxiliary Archbishop for Canberra and Goulburn Pat Power said it was important that people understood the Pope’s comments in the context of Catholic teaching which says homosexual people deserved ”respect, compassion and sensitivity”. ”Every sign of unjust discrimination should be avoided.”

The managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, Jim Wallace, defended the Pope, saying he could ”understand where he is coming from”. ”Without putting other people down, we need to make sure the demands of strident minority groups don’t challenge the health of the family in the same way that greed has challenged the health of the environment.” with agencies

FIRST EVER GAY CHIEF OF MILITARY BRANCH URGED BY NATIONAL GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN

Contact: Paul Sousa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIRST EVER GAY CHIEF OF MILITARY BRANCH URGED

BY NATIONAL GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN:

— Equal Rep Seeks Appointment of Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum President

William White as Secretary of the Navy —

BOSTON, Mass. (December 24, 2008) – Equal Rep recently organized a nation-wide campaign in six days time to urge President-elect Obama to appoint Mary Beth Maxwell as Secretary of Labor which garnered over 1,200 confirmed participants in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and 7 other countries. Equal Rep is now putting on a follow-up campaign to urge President-elect Obama to appoint William White as the next Secretary of the Navy.

Equal Rep is coordinating a national 3 day campaign of phone calls and emails to President-elect Obama’s transition office from December 31 to Jan 2.

“With the whole Rick Warren fiasco ensuing and the fact that gay Americans were completely shut out of Obama’s cabinet, this is the perfect opportunity for our President-elect to show gay Americans they have not been forgotten and he truly is committed to equal representation.” said Paul Sousa, Equal Rep founder. “William White is not only the most qualified candidate, but appointing him would also send a strong message that change is coming and the antiquated, discriminatory policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will be repealed soon.”

In more than 200 years, the United States military has never included an openly gay chief. Growing national focus on GLBT civil rights, especially the call to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” which bars openly gay members, has therefore made the Secretary of the Navy appointment a national issue in the struggle for equal representation.
Retired general Hugh Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said White “would be phenomenal.” He added that White’s extensive background as a fund-raiser for veterans’ and military causes would be helpful in the job. Congressman Jerrold Nadler said White is “very capable” on the basis of observing his work at the Intrepid. Nadler added that White has been a friend of service members and their families through his work with the museum and philanthropic efforts, according to The Washington Times.

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy would not apply to William White since the Secretary of the Navy is a civilian position. However, there is already those saying White should not be chosen simply because he is gay. Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes gays serving in the military said, “It would be very demoralizing to the troops” which is why this campaign is needed.

Equal Rep is a grassroots political organization working toward equal rights for the GLBT community. It is committed to full representation of GLBT identified people in all facets of government. The “Let Diversity Fly” campaign works toward a government representative of all people it serves. The facebook event for the William White campaign is where the bulk of organizing takes place. More information on Equal Rep’s latest events and campaigns can be found at http://www.equalrep.com .

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