From: "Progressive Dane"To: "Progressivedaneannounce" Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 Subject: [progressivedaneannounce] Town Hall Meeting on Civil Marriage Progressive Dane is a sponsor of this important Town Hall Meeting organized by Action Wisconsin: “[The federal Defense of Marriage Act] protects marriage under federal law as the union of a man and a woman, and declares that one state may not redefine marriage for other states….If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.” - George W. Bush, State of the Union, January 20, 2004 Upset about attacks by George W. Bush and other right-wing leaders on same-sex couples and our families? Want to find out how you can help fend off these attacks and build support for civil marriage equality in Wisconsin? You are invited to a town hall meeting on civil marriage equality on Thursday, February 12th from 7-9pm in Madison at the Orpheum Theatre (216 State Street). Action Wisconsin, Progressive Dane, and a historic coalition of national, state, and local social justice organizations are cosponsoring this town hall. The event will feature updates on the national and state fights against anti-LGBT constitutional amendments, same-sex couples from Wisconsin who will share personal stories about the effects of marriage discrimination, and time for questions and comments. Featured speakers will include representatives from Lambda Legal, the legal group that convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Texas’s sodomy law, and the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT rights organization in the nation. The goals of the town hall are to inform the public about civil marriage equality, to bring fair-minded people together in the face of anti-LGBT backlash, and to spark more grassroots citizen involvement in the movement for equality. National co-sponsors include the ACLU, Freedom to Marry, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, HRC, Lambda Legal, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Confirmed state and local cosponsors include the ACLU of Wisconsin, AIDS Network, AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Central Wisconsin Rainbow Alliance, Community Shares of Wisconsin, Democratic Party of Dane County, Diverse & Resilient, FORGE (For Ourselves: Reworking Gender Expression), Four Lakes Green Party, Gemini Gender Group, GLBT Alumni Council of the WI Alumni Association, GLBT Resource Center for the Seven Rivers Region, Human Rights League PAC, LGBT Community Center of the Chippewa Valley, Madison Area Transgender Association, Madison LGBT Business Alliance, Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, LGBT Center Advocates, Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church, National Association of Social Workers-Wisconsin, Out in the Valley, Outreach, PFLAG-Fox Cities, PFLAG-Greater Chippewa Valley, PFLAG-Madison, PFLAG-Milwaukee, Philanthrofund, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Inc., Positive Voice, Progressive Dane, Rainbow Families Wisconsin, Transgender Aging Network, Two Spirit Society of Wisconsin, Urban League of Greater Madison, UW-Madison LGBT Campus Center, UW-Madison Domestic Partner Benefits Coalition, Wisconsin Citizen Action, the Wisconsin Community Fund, Wisconsin Lavender Greens, and the Wisconsin Women’s Network. This event is part of national Freedom to Marry Week. For details on other Wisconsin events, visit: http://www.actionwisconsin.org/civilmarriage/ftmweek.html