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