In this toolkit
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Marriage Equality Messaging
A bipartisan majority of Americans recognize the ability to marry the person you love is a Constitutional right. But we can’t stop there. Conversations with our family, friends, and neighbors need to continue. Below are some helpful tips on how to speak about what this issue is really about: freedom and treating everyone equally under the law.
- Loving, committed, same-sex couples want to marry for the same reasons as straight couples: to share their hopes and dreams, be there for one another in good times and bad, and find that special someone to grow old with.
- In America, freedom means freedom for everyone—including our gay and lesbian family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
- One of our most basic American values is to treat others the way we’d want to be treated—and no one would want to be told who they can or can’t marry.
- That’s why there’s growing bipartisan support for marriage equality – 75 percent of voters say the freedom to marry the person you love is a Constitutional right entitled to all Americans.
- Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two cases that are fundamentally about whether gay and lesbian Americans should have the same freedoms as everyone else. The nation is ready for marriage equality.
- You can lend your voice to the rising tide of those speaking out in favor of marriage equality. Get involved in an event in your own community or see how you can participate in Washington, D.C. during the March 26-27 Supreme Court hearings by visiting www.unitedformarriage.org.
Tips for Organizing Local Events
The events in Washington D.C. give you a unique opportunity to create local events that can project their own images of love, commitment and family – images that have proven to be so powerful in changing the hearts and minds of those still wrestling with whether to support the freedom to marry. We know from years of research and our wins in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington, that these stories and images are what resonate the most with undecided friends, family and neighbors – both through personal contacts and local media coverage.
You can help to continue to push this issue forward by building local actions using the marriage equality messaging referenced above to support your efforts. Already, almost 100 local events are being planned across the country and we need your help to reach all 50 states! Click find / create a local action to register a new event, or to contact an organizer in your community to help with an event already being planned. Some of the suggested local actions include:
You can help to continue to push this issue forward by building local actions using the marriage equality messaging referenced above to support your efforts. Already, almost 100 local events are being planned across the country and we need your help to reach all 50 states! Click find / create a local action to register a new event, or to contact an organizer in your community to help with an event already being planned. Some of the suggested local actions include:
- Rallies or community gatherings on the days of the hearings to show support in your community for the freedom to marry
- Faith communities using the weekend prior to the hearings to talk about issues of LGBT and marriage equality during services
- Letter-writing campaign to local media on how denying equal marriage rights affects our families
- Organizing meetings with your local elected officials, faith leaders, LGBT families and allies to educate about marriage equality
- Facilitating a teach-in or panel discussion on why marriage matters
Tips for Marketing Your Event
So, you’ve planned your event to illustrate support within your community for the marriage equality cases before the Supreme Court – now how do you get people there?
You can promote your event far and wide in just a few steps on Facebook and the Light to Justice site:
1. Fill out the brief “Add Your Action” form on the United For Marriage site - add your action here. This will ensure your event is pegged on the nationwide map of activities.
2. Create a Facebook page for your event. You can do this by clicking “Events” on the left side of your Facebook homepage, and inputting basic information such as your title, the date/time/location, and a brief description of your event.
If you need assistance in describing your event within the greater context of the growing nationwide support for marriage equality, here is some suggested language:
On March 26 – 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two cases that are fundamentally about whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans should have the same freedoms as everyone else. Momentum for marriage equality is growing rapidly across the nation – regardless of one’s age, race, religious and party affiliation. Join us [insert event details] to show your support for the freedom to marry at this historic moment in the equality movement.
3. Submit your event for inclusion on the United 4 Marriage Facebook page.
4. Share, share, share! Make sure all your local friends, loved ones, and neighbors are invited to your event. Encourage them to share the event invitation throughout their own social networks as well.
5. Engage with the local media – share details of your event, how many people are coming, and what time/where you’ll be gathering. Many news outlets will post the number of their newsroom on the website. If it is not publicly available, you can call the outlet’s main number and ask to be connected to either the assignment desk or newsroom.
6. If you’re planning on writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, consider including a sentence that covers your event details – but be sure to keep the case for marriage equality as the primary focus of your piece.
7. Tweet about your event regularly. Use the hashtag #Time4Marriage to connect with the growing base of support for United For Marriage: Light to Justice events.
8. Consider reaching out to your local equality group to see if they are planning any events or if they have resources to help you in staging and advertising your own. Provide them pre-written Facebook posts, tweets, and outreach email to make it easier for them to help you build an audience.
You can promote your event far and wide in just a few steps on Facebook and the Light to Justice site:
1. Fill out the brief “Add Your Action” form on the United For Marriage site - add your action here. This will ensure your event is pegged on the nationwide map of activities.
2. Create a Facebook page for your event. You can do this by clicking “Events” on the left side of your Facebook homepage, and inputting basic information such as your title, the date/time/location, and a brief description of your event.
If you need assistance in describing your event within the greater context of the growing nationwide support for marriage equality, here is some suggested language:
On March 26 – 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two cases that are fundamentally about whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans should have the same freedoms as everyone else. Momentum for marriage equality is growing rapidly across the nation – regardless of one’s age, race, religious and party affiliation. Join us [insert event details] to show your support for the freedom to marry at this historic moment in the equality movement.
3. Submit your event for inclusion on the United 4 Marriage Facebook page.
4. Share, share, share! Make sure all your local friends, loved ones, and neighbors are invited to your event. Encourage them to share the event invitation throughout their own social networks as well.
5. Engage with the local media – share details of your event, how many people are coming, and what time/where you’ll be gathering. Many news outlets will post the number of their newsroom on the website. If it is not publicly available, you can call the outlet’s main number and ask to be connected to either the assignment desk or newsroom.
6. If you’re planning on writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, consider including a sentence that covers your event details – but be sure to keep the case for marriage equality as the primary focus of your piece.
7. Tweet about your event regularly. Use the hashtag #Time4Marriage to connect with the growing base of support for United For Marriage: Light to Justice events.
8. Consider reaching out to your local equality group to see if they are planning any events or if they have resources to help you in staging and advertising your own. Provide them pre-written Facebook posts, tweets, and outreach email to make it easier for them to help you build an audience.
Template Letter to the Editor
In [just a few weeks], the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two historic cases concerning gay marriage. There has been tremendous momentum around the issue of marriage equality over the last year – voters in three states have affirmed marriage equality at the polls, sent the first openly gay person to serve in the U.S. Senate, and have attested in overwhelming numbers that the ability to marry the person you love is a Constitutional right.
Loving, committed, gay and lesbian couples want to marry for the same reasons as straight couples: to share their hopes and dreams. For me, this historic moment is personal. [Insert 2-5 sentences – personal story]
The time for marriage equality is now. Support is at an all-time high and growing rapidly – across age, race, religion, and political affiliation. We’ll be gathering on [date/location] to show the breadth of support in the [region] area for marriage equality. [Insert 1-2 sentences about event.]
One of our most basic American values is to treat others the way we’d want to be treated—and no one would want to be told who they can or can’t marry.
Sincerely,
[Name/Hometown]
Loving, committed, gay and lesbian couples want to marry for the same reasons as straight couples: to share their hopes and dreams. For me, this historic moment is personal. [Insert 2-5 sentences – personal story]
The time for marriage equality is now. Support is at an all-time high and growing rapidly – across age, race, religion, and political affiliation. We’ll be gathering on [date/location] to show the breadth of support in the [region] area for marriage equality. [Insert 1-2 sentences about event.]
One of our most basic American values is to treat others the way we’d want to be treated—and no one would want to be told who they can or can’t marry.
Sincerely,
[Name/Hometown]
