San Diego activist Lisa Kove began the press conference by emphasizing the need to involve as many people as possible in this entirely grassroots effort to restore marriage equality (all photos: Mike Tidmus, fair use encouraged)
At a press conference last night in San Diego, the signature gathering campaign to place an initiative on the 2010 ballot that would repeal Prop 8 and restore marriage equality in California kicked off. San Diego activist Lisa Kove told the twenty or so attendees, “In order to do it we need everybody. We need volunteers, we need people that are ready to raise funds, and we need people on the ground … all we need is you, so we’re here to recruit everybody.”
To return to the ballot in 2010, the, at this point, 100% grassroots effort needs to collect more than a million signatures by 6 April 2010. At Love Honor Cherish, Executive Director John Henning said, “We’re taking names.”
SignForEquality.com will make history by using custom social networking tools, as well as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, to support an all-volunteer signature drive to repeal Prop 8. People throughout California can now help us win marriage back by the simple act of signing and collecting signatures.
Veteran reporter and fellow San Diegan Rex Wockner was also at the kickoff and filed a report at his blog. Wockner notes:
The San Diego activists said they need 1,500 local volunteers to collect 100 signatures each before the deadline 146 days from now. Overall, local volunteers would need to obtain an average of 1,027 signatures per day.
Restore Equality 2010 links:
- Act Blue (Donate to Restore Equality 2010)
- Repeal Prop 8 in 2010
- SignForEquality.com
- Restore Equality 2010
- Restore Equality 2010 (Facebook)
- Love Honor Cherish
In describing what drew her into the marriage equality movement, Sara Beth Brooks recalled Election Night 2008 watching television at a San Diego youth center, “I saw these kids that were sitting around watching TV, watching their rights being taken away on television. And I knew that I couldn’t be silent.” Brooks went on to remind the crowd, “Harvey Milk told us that our greatest need was to protect our children from the Anita Bryants, John Briggs and Frank Schuberts of the world.” Schubert masterminded both the Yes-on-8 in California and Yes-on-1 in Maine campaigns.
Sean Bohac detailed the innovative online logistics that would facilitate gathering the required number of signatures, noting that forms and training videos were available online at SignforEquality.com. Citing a recent poll that indicated 51% of Californians now favor marriage equality in the Golden State, Bohac expressed his optimism that “Californians are with us.”
With the media looking on, Sara Beth Brooks gathers one of the first of many signatures required to restore equality in California
