A Message From Kerry Lobel
MCC Executive Director

Dear LGBT Friend:

I want to share an easy and incredibly effective way you can assist the marriage equality movement.

Metropolitan Community Churches is a co-sponsor, along with DontAmend.com and The Equality Campaign, of the "National Tax Day Rallies" to be held at Post Offices across the U.S. on April 15, the deadline for filing income tax returns.

These events are natural opportunities to generate media coverage for the same-sex marriage movement -- and we will help you promote your event.

Here is the concept:

Every April 15th, hundreds of TV stations carry live evening reports from Post Offices across the U.S. They often focus on the long lines of cars -- sometimes hundreds or thousands -- that line up to drop tax returns in postal boxes in the last hours before the midnight deadline.

We encourage groups to gather at Post Offices on the evening of April 15 to protest "taxation with discrimination." As you know, income tax benefits are among the 1139 benefits the law provides to married couples, but which are denied to LGBT couples.

This is an easy and effective way to generate press coverage for the same-sex marriage issue -- and to demonstrate your leadership in your community.

Here are the simple steps:

1. Send an e-mail to info@MCCchurch.org and let us know that your group will participate in this national (US) event.

2. Send an e-mail to RTDontAmend@aol.com. Tell them you will be participating in the "National Tax Day Rallies" and provide the following information: A contact name, your city, the name of your group, and a contact e-mail address.

3. DontAmend.com will design PDF posters personalized for your local event. These will be sent to you by e-mail and can be download and printed on your computer.

4. DontAmend.com will also supply you with key quotes and talking points you can use in media interviews that night.

5. Consider hosting a poster party to design handmade posters asking for equality and an end to discrimination in the marriage laws. Be sure to mention your church or group.

6. Invite other LGBT groups to participate in this event, too.

7. Prepare a news release and send it to the media in your area telling them which Post Office you will be at, why you will be there, what you will be doing and naming a press spokesperson (For a sample, fill-in-the-blanks news release, write to info@MCCchurch.org.)

8. Encourage your friends, acquaintances and others to join you and make this into a community event.

We are living in amazing times. As you know, MCC has been at the forefront of the struggle for marriage equality for more than 35 years. In 1969, MCC's Rev. Troy Perry performed the first same-sex wedding in the US. In 1970, MCC filed the first lawsuit seeking recognition of same-gender marriages. In 1975, MCC performed the first same-sex wedding in the U.S. conducted with a civil marriage license. In 2003, MCC Toronto won the right for legal gay marriage in Canada -- and inspired the current movement for marriage equality in the United States. And this year, MCC clergy in California, Oregon, and New Mexico have performed weddings with civil marriage licenses, and MCC clergy in New York held a protest in New York City that gained national attention.

The April 15th actions offer another strategic opportunity to keep the marriage issue before our communities -- and to put a human face to this issue. Hearts and minds will continue to be changed as people witness the depth of our love and commitment.

Metropolitan Community Churches are proud to endorse and co-sponsor the April 15th "National Tax Day Rallies" and I warmly encourage you to organize and participate in a rally in your community.

/signed/
Kerry Lobel
MCC Executive Director

For Additional Information, Contact:
MCC Communications Department
8704 Santa Monica Boulevard, Second Floor
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 360-8640, Ext. 226