Here's the inside scoop from the California "Yes on 8" campaign: a statewide bus tour next week to promote their discriminatory agenda.
They're driving the bus to Sacramento, Chico, Oakland, Modesto, Los Angeles, El Centro, Indio, and La Mesa, with another seven destinations yet to be announced.
They asked to spread the word, so I'm doing my part. Confirmed dates below...
From "Yes on 8":
Dear Friend,
As soon as the polls began showing support for Prop. 8 gaining ground, our opponents sounded the alarm and have seen millions of No on 8 donations pour in. They are using these donations to mislead voters into believing that there are no consequences surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriage.
But we know better! This is why we are launching a Statewide Media Bus Tour Next Week. We're going from one end of the state to the other to let California know that the majority of voters support Prop. 8.
We need your help to get hundreds of supporters to our bus tour stops to stand up for traditional marriage.
The tour will start in Sacramento on Monday (Oct. 20) at the Riverside Wesleyan Church. We'll visit 15 locations throughout the state over the course of eight days.
Please help us spread the word. Plan to arrive 45 minutes before the times listed below and remember to bring along your Yes on Prop 8 signs as well as any other materials you might have. If you make your own signs, be sure to write on both sides for the best visibility!
Below is a list of CONFIRMED dates, times and locations for our bus tour rallies. Additional stops will be added to our bus tour next week so please look for updated tour stop notifications.
Kick off: Monday, October 20
11:15 A.M.
Riverside Wesleyan Church
6449 Riverside Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95831
Monday, October 20
4:00 P.M.
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church
13539 Garner Lane
Chico, CA 95973
Tuesday, October 21
12:00 P.M.
Foothill Missionary Baptist Church
1530 Foothill Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94606
Wednesday, October 22
4:00 P.M.
First Baptist Church
808 Needham Street
(Bus will be located at 11th Street & Needham Street)
Modesto, CA 95354
Friday, October 24
12:00 P.M.
St. Frances X Cabrini
1440 W. Imperial Hwy.
Los Angeles, CA 90047
Saturday, October 25
12:00 P.M.
St. Mary's Catholic Church
795 La Brucherie Rd.
El Centro, CA 92243
Saturday, October 25
4:00 P.M.
Central Baptist Church
45520 Clinton St.
Indio, CA 92201
Monday, October 27
3:00 P.M.
Skyline Church
11330 Campo Road
La Mesa, CA 91941
Please join us in what is proving to be the largest grassroots event yet! Help spread the word!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 916-446-2956 or email info@protectmarriage.com.
If you want to show your peaceful opposition to this odious measure, mark your calendars for a "Hate Talk Express" event near you.
I hope California diarists will see this and spread the word. If only for selfish reasons, I'd like to see the bus tour from the Kossack protesters' perpective. Tell your friends. Make signs. Take pictures. Bring your kids—because in the end, it really is about them.
One of the reasons for this bus tour is to combat the fact that "Yes on 8" is sponsored almost completely by out-of-state (Mormon and Fundamentalist) interests. Fortunately, the bus tour gives our side a chance to demonstrate real California values.
At every venue, it's important that we tell what Prop (H)8 really is: a stealth amendment which would inscribe discrimination into our California constitution.
Prop 8 won't just take away the equality we now have. Prop 8 won't just destroy families. Prop 8 threatens teachers, and may well lead to "don't ask, don't tell" policies in our public schools. It is certain to jeopardize many existing same-sex benefits, just as similar constitutional amendments have done in other states.
There's a reason why Google came out against Prop 8: "Yes on 8" threatens the long-term economic health of Silicon Valley, the inevitable result of a GBLT brain drain. Personnel losses are feared across the medical industry and at all levels of education. (Update Oct 19th: See this opinion piece on the likely GLBT brain drain in the San Jose Mercury News, published Oct. 13th.)
Seriously, can California really afford those losses?
Please donate if you can. Your much-needed donations are doubled this weekend by Steve Bing. (We are still somewhat behind both in the polls and donations, but beginning to close the gap.)
No on Hate. No on 8. Spread the word.