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Find out who's planning to get arrested in your town on Valentine's Day, plus the Supreme
Court hints at an impending decision on Prop 8. There's been good progress on civil unions
in Illinois and Hawaii, and we'll check in on some Maryland Marriage activists.
I'm Matt Baume from Stop Eight dot org, and welcome to This Week in Prop 8 for Monday,
February 7th, 2011.
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye announced last week that the
court could decide as soon as next week whether it's going to get involved with the case against
Prop 8. The court's a real wild card here -- nobody's sure what they're going to do.
That's why Ted Olson asked them not to get involved, leaving the case instead of the
hands of the far more gay-friendly Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last week's Comment Bait asked whether you thought the State Supreme Court should get
involved in the matter, and lots of you weighed in. Youtube user AlexAndAdjectives commented
yes, they should, writing, "Yes it would take longer, but the issue needs to be cleared
up legally."
Our question this week: Aside from California, what state do you think will make the most
strides towards marriage equality this year? There've been promising developments all around
the country, just in the last week.
In Illinois, governor Pat Quinn signed a civil unions bill into law, making that state the
sixth to recognize civil unions. And in Hawaii, a civil unions bill will get a House hearing
this Tuesday. It's expected to pass later this year.
In Iowa, Democrats have so far been able to keep Republican attacks on marriage at bay,
with a very slim majority promising to block a vote on marriage equality.
The Maryland senate will hear testimony on a marriage bill this Tuesday, and advocates
have been hard at work pressuring lawmakers to support the measure. Those advocates include
groups like FriendFactor.org, which has organized phone banks to connect Marylanders with their
legislators.
Let's check in with Patty Buckley and the folks at FriendFactor headquarters to see
how it's been going. Patty, what's the goal with these events you're holding?
Hi Matt. We're trying to find LGBT Marylanders who are passionate about the marriage issue
and who are willing to ask their friends and family for personal help in making marriage
a reality for them. We've created a tool at MarylandPop.org that makes it really easy
for gay people to ask their friends and family for help.
And it makes it easy for straight people to help too, by directly connecting them with
their state legislator.
So we already have a list of over a thousand highly influential Marylanders and within
the first three hours of launching the tool we've already had eighty two calls went out.
We've got a lot more going in. A lot more people coming in to pop the question.
If you want to get involved, go to www.MarylandPop.org. If you're in Maryland, you're in the best
position to help. So set a goal for yourself. Say "I want ten, I want fifteen, I want twenty
friends to pop the question for me," and reach that goal. If you're not from Maryland, you
can still make a huge difference. We have copy for Facebook updates, emails you can
send to Maryland friends, spread the word about this campaign, help your gay friends
get married, go.
From everybody here at FriendFactor's grassroots headquarters, we thank you so much.
Okay, thank you guys and good luck.
Thanks, Matt.
Head on over to MarylandPop dot org to make your voice heard and to to spread the word
amongst your friends.
Now next Monday is Valentine's Day, a perfect opportunity to head down to City Hall with
the one you love ... and get arrested.
Every year, civil rights groups protest marriage discrimination by visiting the marriage counter
in their town and demanding a license. When they're refused, they respond with demonstrations,
rallies, and occasionally sit-ins that lead to arrests. You can find out what's planned
for your town by visiting Request Marriage dot com.
And that brings us to this week's Action Item. We want your footage of the Valentine's Day
protests happening where you live.
Check Request Marriage dot com to find out if a protest has been scheduled for your town
on Valentine's Day, the 14th. If it is, go down to city hall and get video of couples
demanding a marriage license. And if nothing's scheduled yet for where you live, find a gay
couple and drag 'em down there yourself.
We're going to be releasing a special episode next week that compiles all of the footage
of protests from around the country, and we want to include yours. If you're going to
be there taping on Valentine's Day, let us know by emailing contact at stop eight dot
org. We'll give you instructions for sending your footage to us to be included in our post-protest
mega-montage.
So again, that's Request Marriage dot com to find the protests, and contact at stop
eight dot org to volunteer your footage.
And from all of us here at Stop Eight dot org, happy Valentine's Day.