I joined this site in 2004, shared in the ups and downs as we fought for change, sometimes fought each other, but what I have found most remarkable is how consistently this site gravitates to what can be. We gather here with a sense of possibility, that our efforts individually and collectively can make the impossible, possible.
This is a place I can go where people focus on what they can do to change things, instead of merely complaining about how things should be and because of that it is the place I go first to share my new job and to ask for your belief and help to literally change the world...
For over a year the people here in my state of California have been living in Frank Schubert's vision of America. He led the fight to pass prop 8 and deny equality in marriage, and it worked. Last year, he took that fight to Maine, again he succeeded. I believe there is no time to allow wrong to remain unchecked. In 2010 we have the chance to pass the first "yes" vote in history, granting full equality in marriage for all. I am proud to have been named Manager of the grassroots campaign Restore Equality 2010, which is leading that fight.
The video above was created for my organization's messaging campaign to support equality. Now, I am proud to be working directly with the statewide campaign which will Restore Equality in 2010.
I have been involved in many campaigns to elect people. This is a mixed bag, as any casual glance through the diaries will show. Therefore, I am particularly inspired working on this initiative, one in which when we succeed, we know what the result will be, we know how lives will change, forever. For me this is particularly special, for I have spent years preaching and in some ways being an example of what I believe the grassroots can accomplish when empowered. This effort will be one of the largest in the country in 2010, and it is being powered by the grassroots.
The major groups fighting for equality are on the sidelines. They have pledged support if we earn our place on the ballot. This is the opportunity, right now, not only to effect millions of lives and right a major wrong, but to change the way campaigns are run. This is our chance to do what some think impossible, together, and shine a spotlight on what the grassroots truly can accomplish when given the chance..or when we take that chance ourselves.
Join us, right now. We need your help and time is short. On February 6, we are planning a statewide day of action. On that one day we will gather 100,000 signatures of the apprx. 1.2M needed to earn a place on the ballot for November, 2010. Further, we will build the awareness campaign through that day of action which will fuel the campaign with the support necessary to carry us to the finish line by April 12, when the signatures must be turned in.
You can be of great service to this cause by doing the following:
- Join us at our website - we need volunteers for the 6th, and volunteer leaders who will help us in the days leading up to that date
- Share this message - we need as many people as possible, gathering signatures, making calls and planning events
- Chip in a few dollars - Your contribution supports the volunteers on the ground with pens, clipboards, t-shirts and our viral video awareness campaigns.
Since I joined this site in 2004 I have witnessed this community making the impossible possible many times. Now, I ask your help to do that once more.
Thank You For All That You Do,
Eugene Hedlund
Campaign Manager
Restore Equality 2010