Prop 8 Upheld: What LGBT families can do now

The California Supreme Court has upheld Prop 8.
Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of Family Equality Council,
just issued the following statement to our supporters
nationwide.

Dear Families and
Friends,

The California Supreme Court
has issued its ruling in the Prop 8 case. The news is
not entirely good.

The Court upheld Prop 8 while
maintaining the marriages performed last year. While we are glad
that legally married couples will continue to be recognized in
California (as they should be), we are very disappointed that the
Court has ducked its responsibility to ensure equality under the
law.

I
wanted to share with you the statement I just released to the
press, highlighting the terrible impact this decision has on LGBT
families.

“Today’s disappointing
ruling from the California Supreme Court underscores how incredibly
important it is for LGBT people, especially parents, to continue
telling our stories, connecting with other families about our
shared hopes, dreams and concerns, changing hearts and minds. Our
visibility and actions as a community have resulted in a seventeen
point gain in just five years in support of marriage equality
nationwide. Our responses to the Court’s ruling will build on that
momentum. LGBT parents know concretely how inequality hurts our
families. We will continue working for full equality because our
families deserve nothing less. It’s a lesson we get to teach our
children—through struggle comes progress—and so we look to the
future and prepare to make marriage a reality for our families in
California once again. As an ever-growing community of LGBT
parents, family and friends, we will close this chapter on American
history with justice and equality at the end.”

Want to react to this
decision with your community?
Check out Day
of Decision rallies
in more than 90 cities
nationwide.

In
California?


Meet in the Middle
with LGBT and allied supporters of marriage
equality for a weekend march to Fresno.

Outraged?
Share your thoughts with Family Equality Council so we may put your
stories to work overturning this terrible attack on our
families. Click
here
to email Communications Manager Dustin Kight, who’ll
collect your comments.

For our families,

Jennifer Chrisler
Executive Director
Family Equality Council

Resources for YOUR
Family
Discuss the California
Supreme Court’s ruling with your family, friends, co-workers,
neighbors and more. Read on for LGBT family-specific resources to
get active for equality in California and beyond. 

Get
Engaged: Vote No on 8

Resources from our family-inclusion contribution to the No
on 8 campaign. Consider them samples of family-centered activities
and resources you can create to repeal Prop 8:

Checklist
(explains “Playdates with a Purpose,” a family-centered way to
discuss family equality)

Coloring
Sheets

(samples for things kids can do while parents
educate)

Halloween
Postcard

(sample of family-specific activity to promote family
equality)


Step-by-Step Guides
from Family Equality Council’s parent-friendly how-to
series

Putting
the Power of Parents to Work

(a short guide to telling your family story through op-eds and
letters to the editor)

*
Starting a Parents Group

(a short guide on building LGBT family community in towns big
and small)

*
Talking to Your Children About Election ’08

(provides useful language and ideas to share with your loved
ones if Prop 8 is upheld)

*
Family Discussions About Political Attacks on Our Families

(suggestions for how to protect and prepare your family
against defamatory attacks in the media and in your everyday
life)


Equality California
 has a comprehensive history of the Prop 8
campaign, the current court case, and information on current Prop 8
events and resources.