[Peace] DAY OF DECISION protest/celebration Tuesday 5:30PM--6:30PM MAIN/NEIL

[Jesse Phillippe]

*PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY*

DAY OF DECISION 5/26/09 in C-U 5:30PM--6:30PM MAIN/NEIL in front of Susan B.
Anthony monument. Then onto the Clark Bar.

Press Release-----------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, a Day of Decision rally will take place in
downtown Champaign at the intersection of Neil and Main/Church Streets in
front of the Susan B. Anthony monument.  This rally will be in solidarity
with others nationwide on the day that the California Supreme Court rules on
the same sex marriage ban, Proposition 8.  The ruling will determine the
status of 18,000 marriage licenses granted to same sex couples in
Californiabetween June 2008 and November 2008.  Proposition
8 passed by a narrow margin in November 2008 and amended the state
constitution to read “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or
recognized in California.” The ruling should be announced by 10 AM Pacific
Time (12 noon Central Time).  Should the California Supreme Court uphold
Proposition 8, the rally will be a protest; but if Proposition 8 is
overturned, it will be a celebration.

The actions are being coordinated nationally through the
www.DayOfDecision.org <http://www.dayofdecision.org/>
website co-founded by Chicago gay activist Andy Thayer and pioneer national
lesbian activist Robin Tyler of Los Angeles who, with her wife Diane Olson,
was the first lesbian couple to file in the historic California Marriage
Equality Case, and are petitioners (plaintiffs) in the case brought before
the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8.

The equal marriage movement is about love and civil rights.  More than
30,000 same sex couples live in the state of Illinois; and that number only
reflects those who have publicly disclosed their relationships on government
surveys.  Same sex couples live in every county in Illinois.  Despite the
fact that same sex couples are in loving, committed relationships,  they are
not entitled to the hundreds of benefits and privileges conferred by civil
marriage.  Same sex couples do not want special marriage rights - they
want equal
marriage.

Over forty years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that no state
could prevent an interracial couple from marrying.  Today the case of Loving
v. Virginia is remembered as a landmark case for racial equality as well as
the equal marriage movement.   In 2007, original co-plaintiff Mildred Loving
released a public statement in which she voiced her support for same sex
marriage:  "I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their
sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to
marry."

On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, community members will gather at 5:30 PM in
downtown Champaign in support of equal marriage rights for same sex
couples.  California is neither the beginning nor the end of the equal
marriage movement.  To date five states have legalized same sex marriage:
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and Maine.  Internationally same
sex marriages are recognized and performed in seven countries, including
Canada, South Africa, and Spain.  Regardless of the California Supreme Court
ruling on Proposition 8, the rally in Champaign is in solidarity with a
worldwide movement for love, civil rights, and marriage equality.



http://www.dayofdecision.com/

http://cudayofdecision.info/

http://twitter.com/CUDayOfDecision


-- 
******************************
*************************
ISO Resources:
socialismconference.org

internationalsocialist.org

haymarketbooks.org

socialistworker.org

isreview.org


ISO Champaign Meetings:
Thursdays, 8pm, Armory 147
All are welcome

Socialist Worker & Haymarket Books Tabling
Tuesdays, Main Quad at UIUC, 12:30-1:15pm
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace/attachments/20090525/68d1161d/attachment.htm