[Peace] Fwd: PROTEST TODAY: PROP 8 UPHELD!, TUES., 5:00-6:30PM, MAIN/NEIL

[Chris Tuck]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ISO Champaign <iso.champaign at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, May 26, 2009 at 3:16 PM
Subject: PROTEST TODAY: PROP 8 UPHELD!, TUES., 5:00-6:30PM, MAIN/NEIL
To:


PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY

please show up at 5pm if possible, as the media will be turning out!

DAY OF DECISION 5/26/09 in C-U 5:00PM--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 California between 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 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

--
*******************************************************
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socialismconference.org
internationalsocialist.org
haymarketbooks.org
socialistworker.org
isreview.org

ISO Champaign Meetings:
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All are welcome

Socialist Worker & Haymarket Books Tabling
Tuesdays, Main Quad at UIUC, 12:30-1:15pm
(during inclement weather, we will be inside the Student Union)

Socialist Happy Hour!
An evening of informal political discussion
Fridays at 8:00pm: All are welcome
Blind Pig (120 N. Walnut St.)
********************************************************





-- 
Chris Tuck
-Undergrad-UIUC
      Political Science, Philosophy, Physics.

-Carroll Fire Dept.
      Firefighter/EMT-B