Unless anyone has been hiding under a rock, we should all be aware that our world is in turmoil. There is conflict everywhere. There is open war between several countries. There is greed, divisiveness, persecution, hate, inequality, oppression and killing amongst the human race.
To cite a few:
1948 Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1978 War in Afghanistan Asia Afghanistan
1991 Somali Civil War 1999 Islamist insurgency in Nigeria 2004 War in North-West Pakistan
2006 Mexican Drug War 2011 Egyptian Crisis Africa Egypt 2011 Syrian Civil War 2011 Iraqi insurgency 2012 Central African Republic conflict 2013 South Sudanese Civil War 2014 War in Donbass Europe Ukraine
It seems to be that we, as a whole, have not learned a thing. We keep repeating the same thing over and over again and the results continue to be the same.
We are insane!
I know that this has been discussed many a’times before. Many people have tried to change. There are too many vested interests to really want to stop the insanity. I wonder, are we condemned to forever, permanent warfare?
Reminds me of a game at town fairs: there’s a line of objects that pop up and you have a hammer to push each one back down. You hit one, another pops up. I can’t recall the name. However, it’s like putting fires out all the time and it’s never ending.
Or the magician’s trick to keep a bunch on plates up on thin sticks and keep them from breaking.
Will there ever be an end to war?
“Sometimes in music we can find both forgiveness and hope at the exact same time.”
Playing For Change, the multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race.
The newest edition to Playing For Change’s video episodes is ‘Music is my Ammunition.’ It was co-written by Greg Johnson and Mermans Kenkosenki, a South African-based reggae singer from the Congo who calls his musical style ‘Afro Fiesta’ – a combination of reggae, Latin rhythms and jazz.
This mostly acoustic track has a reggae feel, but brings in elements of Delta blues courtesy of Roberto Luti’s steel guitar and a hint of Cuba from Rigoberto Lopez’s bass. Stephen Marley sings back up and Roselyn Williams and Sherieta Lewis of Kingston Jamaica’s vocal improvisations are sung to the melody of ‘Jamaica Farewell,’ the classic Lord Burgess calypso made popular by Harry Belafonte.
~~Music Is My Ammunition~~
(Lyrics)
The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition; I fire down Babylon!
(One more time) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition; fire down Babylon!
Imprisonment, poverty and Babylon’s system; We’ve been suffering all this time (all this time) I and I keep on chanting down ‘Till our children will face The front of that line
(I gotta say) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind (through the wind), And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
(One more time) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
Peace and dignity are not very far out of our reach It just comes down (just comes down) to what I and I choose to teach
Truth and honesty will free our hearts And free our minds (free our minds) So then our children can live together as one ‘Till the end of time
(I gotta say) The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind, And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
The songs of my ancestors still ricochet through the wind (through the wind), And the smoke is rising through the words I and I sing. Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
Music is my ammunition; I fire down Babylon! Music is my ammunition; I fire down Babylon!
(One more time) Music is my ammunition, lord; I fire down Babylon!
~~Music Is My Ammunition~~
~Playing For Change~
~~Uploaded on Aug 2, 2011~~
We are honored to announce the release of PFC3: Songs Around The World – available everywhere now! This CD/DVD set highlights the passion and talent of 185 musicians from 31 different countries.
Hello everyone, today we continue on our journey to connect the world through music with our Song Around The World, titled, “Music is my ammunition“. Check out this Playing For Change anthem, “Music is my ammunition” and spread the word about our new album, PFC 2.
Support Playing For Change by telling all your friends and family to join the movement at http://playingforchange.com.
Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard the term GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), and have likely eaten foods that were genetically engineered in some form or fashion.
But, do you know what this actually means and what it’s doing to your body?
What is a GMO?
A genetically engineered food is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered in a laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. This type of genetic alteration is not found in nature, and is experimental. The correct scientific term is “transgenics,” and is also often referred to as (GE) genetically engineered.
64 countries, including the entire European Union and China, have jumped the non-GMO train, banning the use, or requiring the labeling, of all GMO products. Of all of the developed countries in the world, the United States and Canada have yet to jump ship. Why is this? Are we so concerned with money that we would jeopardize the welfare of our citizens. With some of the highest cancer rates (and other health issues) in the world, we should probably take note of the nutritional strategies other nations are implementing and align ourselves with those strategies. Besides, our people are demanding it.
But, instead of GMO labeling, what do we get?
A Website funded by the likes of Monsanto, trying to shift the conversation about labeling and other issues. The site was launched by the agriculture biotech industry — specifically Monsanto, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience and BASF — calling it a place where you and I can go and pose our most pressing GMO questions. I’m not going to say that every bit of information on the site is false, but would you visit RJR.com to learn about the health risks associated with smoking? I wouldn’t think so. However, the tobacco industry has been using this tactic for years.
What Can You Do?
A recent poll, conducted earlier this year by The New York Times shows that three-quarters of Americans are concerned about the number of genetically modified or engineered foods. And a staggering 93 percent of them support mandatory labeling of GMO products. It is now the responsibility of policy writers and legislators to see that this public outcry makes its way to a bill.
You can help push your local and state representatives by telling the FDA that you wish to have your foods labeled as Genetically Modified. Visit this site to voice your opinion and protect your right to know what’s in your food.
A public service announcement from the Health Ranger/Natural News
~~Published on Aug 14, 2013~~
This short, 3-minute video is the perfect way to introduce new people to the subject of GMOs.
The video reveals where GMOs come from, why they’re used and why they cause organ damage and cancer in mammals. It also explains how to avoid GMOs by shopping for USDA certified organic foods. The short duration of the video makes it perfect for viewing by new people who either aren’t familiar with the problem of GMOs or who don’t want to sit through a long-duration documentary.
Also covered in the short video is the concept of “genetic pollution” — how GMOs threaten the viability of global agriculture by turning the entire planet into a mad science genetics experiment with potentially catastrophic results.
Dedicated to the Desert Elephants of Namibia who are fighting for their lives because of Trophy hunters. We will fight for you.
~~Description~~
Wild Heart is a page is dedicated to all the wild animals of the world that are abused, poached, hunted and generally exploited in the name of greed.
The magnificent rhino are being poached into extinction and the elephants and lions are being poached and over hunted. It has to stop. The kind compassionate people of the world are still the majority. We just have to make them aware of what is happening with the exploitation and decimation of our animal kingdom.
“Sharing is caring”.
All our beautiful animals should be able to roam wild and free, the only way it’s meant to be.
Of all the four legged creatures that wander the earth, African elephants are the biggest, the most revered and the most vulnerable. These towering yet sensitive and gentle mammals are a symbol of the African Wilderness. Let us now, while there is still time, contemplate and behold the African Elephant.
This week we saw the clearest demonstration in the modern history of the Supreme Court of Republican men bullying American women regarding their health care choices.
What the five Republican men on the court had described as a “narrow” decision, has already been expanded, much to the dissent of the three women Supreme Court justices and Stephen Breyer.
Remember this November, that these five thugs on the SCOTUS were ALL appointed by Republican presidents. Elections have consequences, all the way to our bedrooms. Who wants a bunch of sectarian, bitter men telling American women what they can and can’t do regarding their own bodies?!
Drown these rats and their sinking ship by bringing a BLUE tsunami to the polls this November 4th.
~~FROM A DEAR BLOGGER FRIEND~~
~John at “American Liberal Times”~
“This SCOTUS wants to replace the Congress and become the Supreme Ruling Body of the new Right Wing plutocratic Oligarchy someday and I think they are just stretching their wings and trying out their muscle – and they complain about the President ruling by fiat! Total hypocrisy!
Eventually – if The American People don’t wake up to their nefarious schemes – we are all going to see The Constitution completely re-written by edicts from that Bench in Washington (SCOTUS) and it will happen just like the old Communist infiltration technique of “Boring From Within” a little bit here and a little change in the law there – until all has been redone and none of it will even remotely resemble anything we know as America today. Mark my word! If they are not stopped, disaster is in the making for our way of life!
Maybe America will awaken in time. Americans have faced some tough challenges in the past and overcome them all.
Have faith in God and in The American Spirit.
Anyway sometimes the fire must come so that the forest can be renewed.
One of the first things that needs to be done is to balance the court – equal number of justices from each represented political faction – there is no limit written into how many justices there can be on the bench – the second thing that needs doing is that the justices need to be elected and not appointed and the final thing that would help a lot is to have justices on “Limited Terms” so that none of them could serve longer than say a President – I suggest a reasonable term limit for SCOTUS judges would be Eight (8) years. None of these actions are beyond what is already provided for in the Law.
I believe the American People need to be educated and then they need to be motivated and I think the only motivation that will move the masses is some really outrageous move by the power structure – something that would dramatically affect individual incomes. If something affects the pocketbook it always gets attention.
We all have the duty to our generations to become voices crying in the wilderness – even a little voice is better than none. That is why I blog about politics. No amount of effort – no matter how small – is without value in a valorous struggle – everybody has some kind of talent and can do something.”
SUPREME DISAPPOINTMENT
Americans used to respect the Supreme Court.
But not anymore. Not since they made corporations into people, gave corporations religious rights, removed limits on campaign spending and voted against women’s rights. This Gang of Five Republicans has a front row seat on America’s destruction.
They put profit over people and greed over need. The four Liberal judges are out voted 5-4 on the most critical decisions.
Wake up America!
Like George Carlin declared, “The American Dream is only true if you’re asleep.”
Those of us in America are very much aware of the stir this “store” has created and the decision handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Some of our readers and followers in other countries and the other side of the world have no idea what this is all about.
David Green opened the first Hobby Lobby store, in a 600-square-foot (56 m2) in northwest Oklahoma City, in 1972. Netting sales of $3,200 by the end of the year, he moved to a larger 1,000 square foot space in January 1973. A second store in Oklahoma City opened in 1975, and a store opened in Tulsa the next year. It grew to seven stores by mid 1982, and the first store outside Oklahoma opened in 1984.
By the start of 1989, the chain had slowly grown to about 15 stores. By late 1992, it had grown to 50 locations in seven states, and its growth continued to accelerate. Its 100th store opened in August 1995, and its 200th in August 1999. By March 2002, that number had grown to 281 stores in 24 states, and 310 by October 2003.
As of June 2014, the chain has 561 stores nationwide. Hobby Lobby headquarters are now located in a 3,400,000-square-foot (320,000 m2) manufacturing, distribution, and office complex.
~~Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc~~
Holding: As applied to closely held corporations, the regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring employers to provide their female employees with no-cost access to contraception violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Judgment: Affirmed, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Alito on June 30, 2014. Justice Ginsburg filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Sotomayor joined, and which Justice Breyer and Justice Kagan joined to all but Part III-C-1. Justice Breyer and Justice Kagan filed a dissenting opinion.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby on Monday that for-profit employers with religious objections can opt out of providing contraception coverage under Obamacare.
The ruling deals directly with only a small provision of Obamacare and will not take down the entire law but it amounts to a huge black eye for Obamacare, the administration and its backers. The justices have given Obamacare opponents their most significant political victory against the health care law, reinforcing their argument that the law and President Barack Obama are encroaching on Americans’ freedoms.
The court’s four liberal justices called it a decision of “startling breadth” and said that it allows companies to “opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
The court’s majority also rejected the Obama administration’s argument that for-profit companies cannot assert religious rights under RFRA. However, only Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the portion of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent that argues companies do not have such rights.
Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan did not join that section of Gingsburg’s opinion and said in a one-paragraph dissent of their own that they would have left for another day the issue of the rights of for-profit companies and their owners.
The majority decision could open the door to other closely held corporations seeking to withhold coverage for other medical procedures at odds with firm religious beliefs. It marks the first time that the Supreme Court has allowed companies the ability to declare a religious belief — a decision that could reverberate far past the Affordable Care Act to other laws and issues.
In the short term, the ruling appears to allow the owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties to opt out of the health care law’s requirement that they provide all Food and Drug Administration-approved forms of birth control in their health plans.
The court’s latest decision promises to reignite a national debate over women’s health and access to contraception ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. It is likely to force House and Senate candidates to answer for whether they supported the contraception coverage, a provision that’s more politically popular than the law itself. Advocates have promised to make it an election issue.
~Monsanto Controls both the White House and the US Congress~
No Matter Who Wins the Presidential Election Monsanto Benefits
This incisive article by Josh Sager published one month before the November 2012 US presidential elections carefully documents how Monsanto has cornered the US political system.
Whoever gets in, Monsanto’s interests will be served.
Moreover, Monsanto also controls key appointments to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
In the 2012 presidential election, the American people will have to choose between incumbent President Barack Obama (D) and Mitt Romney (R). With this choice, the American public will determine who sets the tone for national policy and is given power over the executive branch of our government. There are many ways to look at the prospective presidential candidates, but one is to look at their past actions and affiliations in order to predict how they will act in the future; in this article, I will discuss the past actions of both current President Barack Obama and candidate Mitt Romney in relation to the agro-giant Monsanto Corporation.
As Obama has already served a term as president, there is little guessing required to predict what he will do in regard to Monsanto if he is given a second term — his actions speak louder than any speeches. A politician may rhetorically support one thing during speaking engagements, but what truly matters are their actual policy choices rather than scripted comments. Throughout his first term, President Obama has presided over the passage of several Monsanto-friendly legislative initiatives and has appointed numerous people associated with Monsanto to high-level positions.
Monsanto-Friendly Legislation
During Obama’s four years as president, the federal government had several opportunities to pass legislation and executive initiatives which affect Monsanto. Of these federal initiatives, the 2010 African hunger plan and the 2012 Farm Bill present the most important examples of the Obama administration’s friendly attitude towards Monsanto.
~Government Appointment of Monsanto Associates~
Monsanto is a very large business and has control over a significant amount of the agro-business and genetically modified organism markets. Both the agricultural and GMO markets involve large public safety concerns (ex. food safety), thus Monsanto is heavily affected upon federal regulations (or potential regulations) on its business—the largest of which come from the United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] and the Food and Drug Administration. If regulations and labeling requirements are increased, Monsanto’s profits are directly impacted; conversely, if, such regulations are kept low, then corporations like Monsanto make a larger profit.
Due to the vested interest that Monsanto has in controlling regulation that affects its business, it has both donated to politicians and promoted the appointment of people who work for them to positions within the American government. As of yet, Monsanto has been successful in keeping its regulatory burdens low and getting its representatives into positions within the US government. The infiltration of regulatory agencies by corporate actors that is referred to here is called the “regulatory revolving door”. Individuals who work for industry go to work for the government, make public regulations, and then return to the private sector after leaving the public service.
The following info-graphic gives a few examples of the revolving door between Monsanto and the United States government:
MONSANTO 101
Monsanto has government TIES
Organic and Natural Product Companies
Associated with Monsanto
The farm biotech business is controlled by five multinationals, the world’s largest seed and agrochemical companies: Monsanto, Dupont, Syngenta, Bayer and Dow. Monsanto’s genetically modified seed technology accounted for about 90 percent of the total worldwide area devoted to such crops last year.
THE TRUTH DENIED is a collection from The Truth Denied Team of Investigations, research and Radio Shows with subject matters such as Chemtrails, Aerosol Spraying, GMO, Morgellons Disease, Health and Healing, NWO Agendas, Nano Technology, Healing,Nutrition & Health, Spirituality, Outer Space,UFO sightings,HAARP,Morgellons Disease, Disease, Matrix,Government,Mythology, archeology,Ancient Aliens, Astrology,Agenda 21 Topics, Smart Meters and Conspiracy Theories that are really Facts for the public. We are a volunteer organization. We also have radio shows for the public hosted on Revolution Radio at freedomslips.com
DONT’ FORGET “CITIZENS UNITED” … I STRONGLY BELIEVE THEY HAVE SAWDUST INSIDE THEIR SKULLS
~Females Celebrate Newfound Right of Denial with SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Ruling~
(TONGUE IN CHEEK)
The Supreme Court declared this morning that it is unconstitutional to require private companies to provide health coverage for contraceptive medicine, a landmark decision regarding the Affordable Care Act. Ruling that mandated coverage infringes on a company’s freedom of religion, women around the country rejoiced for the fair and protective ruling.
“This ruling has given me the freedom I’ve always wanted — to be denied of healthcare. I think life has gotten a little complicated since we’ve gotten the right to choose, and that’s not what The Lord wants,” said spokeswoman for Hobby Lobby, Sarah Haven.
Women have been protesting for their cause on National Mall since the beginning of June. A Black Sheep undercover journalist noted these distinct protest cries:
“It’s my body, I should be able to take care of it in any way! That includes denying myself helpful medications that can control my hormone irregularities!”
“No one else should be able to decide what I can and can’t do to my own body — except for my boss. He’s always right.”
“I demand equality and fair treatment! If men could get pregnant, no one would question whether someone had the right to contraceptive care. Everyone would be denied equally! Women shouldn’t have this special exception – it’s not fair!”
A new wave of females flooded the streets of the capital after the ruling was announced to celebrate their liberating new roadblock to contraceptive medication.
“I can’t believe the law is finally on my side — it’s been a long fight and I can’t wait to sit down, rest, and hopefully shake this new set of cramps. God, cramps suck” said protester Abbie Trensil.
Some people list the ruling as unfair, citing that birth control can be used to treat medical conditions, not just curb pregnancies.
“I have endometriosis and take birth control to regulate it. Now, with this ruling, my medication will not be covered” said forty-year-old mother of four Carla Wiese. She then was taken aside by two men in suits and came back to chat with our journalist. “But, I guess this country was founded on the freedom of religion, and I certainly do not want to be the one to break the Constitution. I’ll just pay out of pocket, for the sake of everyone’s freedom. It’s what the founding fathers would have wanted.”
Others argue that a ruling on such a specific issue unfairly targeted the female community.
We have a lot to celebrate this year – and a lot to do as we work to win marriage for all families nationwide. As Pride Month wraps up, share this graphic to celebrate, and read this Top 10 list from Evan Wolfson on 10 years of marriage milestones.
The freedom to marry movement is on the ascendant, and we have much to celebrate. Together we’ve gained ground at a pace that is nearly unparalleled, reflecting and accelerating the momentum we have worked so hard to build over so long. We’ve won state and legal victories in nearly every corner of the country and built a majority for marriage nationwide and in every region, at record levels. We’ve won a powerful victory in the U.S. Supreme Court that prefigures the national resolution that has always been our goal. Forty percent of Americans now live in freedom-to-marry states, up from zero a decade ago. We have the momentum, and we have the winning strategy—the same strategy that has guided the movement to this moment and that, if we keep at it, will bring victory nationwide through a successful return to the Supreme Court, possibly as soon as next year.
In other words, there is plenty to celebrate, but also lots more to do. On this 10th anniversary of the freedom to marry in America, let’s take a moment to savor and remember how far we’ve come — and with full victory within reach (provided we keep reaching), let’s re-engage to finish the job and fulfill our goal of winning marriage nationwide!
~~1970s: First-Ever Wave of Marriage Litigation Begins in America~~
From the dawn of the modern LGBT movement, in the immediate aftermath of Stonewall in 1969, same-sex couples were seeking the freedom to marry, with early challenges coming from couples in Minnesota, Washington, and Kentucky. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution does not protect “a fundamental right” for same-sex couples to get married. A year later, Maryland became the first state to pass a statute explicitly banning marriage between same-sex couples; California’s explicit ban was signed into law in 1977 by, ironically, Gov. Jerry Brown, who decades later championed and helped deliver our freedom to marry in the Golden State.
While those first marriage cases were all rubber-stamped away, a second wave of litigation in the 1990s, most notably the historic Hawaii case, launched the ongoing global freedom to marry movement. Why? Because of what came in between: HIV/AIDS shattered the silence about gay people’s lives. The epidemic forced society to see gay people as human beings who love, grieve, and fight back; and led gay people to better understand how the denial of marriage harmed our ability to care for our loved ones as well as non-gay people’s ability to see us as whole. Instead of fighting to be let alone, we began fighting to be let in.
~~1983: A Vision That Would Make a Difference~~
In 1983, while still a student at Harvard Law School, I wrote my thesis on why gay people should have the freedom to marry. At the time, same-sex couples had no country – or state – level legal relationship recognition anywhere in the world — let alone marriage. I wrote the thesis because I believed then, as ever since, that marriage matters, and that by claiming the resonant vocabulary of marriage – love, commitment, connectedness, and freedom – we could transform non-gay people’s understanding of who gay people are and why exclusion and discrimination are wrong.
A few years later, in 1989, Andrew Sullivan published “Here Comes the Groom,” a cover story in the New Republic, making a conservative case for marriage and launching his own journey as the leading public intellectual championing the cause. The arguments and themes we and others put forward, the back and forth within the movement, and couples proclaiming their love set the stage for the transformation to come.
~~1993: The Ongoing Global Freedom to Marry Movement is Born in Hawaii~~
When couples in Hawaii went to court in 1990, represented by a non-gay lawyer, Dan Foley, they gave birth to a movement that has enabled gay couples, as of today, to share in the freedom to marry in 18 countries on 5 continents. The Hawaii Supreme Court was the first court in history to say that marriage discrimination is presumptively unconstitutional, and the subsequent trial in 1996 resulted in the world’s first-ever ruling that gay couples should have the freedom to marry. Although later snatched away by a political attack in 1998, Hawaii’s breakthrough was a tectonic shift that launched the global movement for the freedom to marry.
By the end of the 1990’s, Vermont became the first state in America to introduce civil unions a legal step toward, but not equal to, marriage – and two-thirds of Americans had come to believe we would win. And the lessons our movement learned in Hawaii and Vermont served as a catalyst for the creation of Freedom to Marry, the needed campaign to drive the strategy and collaboration that are winning marriage nationwide.
~~2003–04: Massachusetts Becomes the First-Ever Freedom to Marry State~~
GLAD’s victory in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health made Massachusetts the first state in the nation, and the sixth jurisdiction in the world, where loving and committed gay couples could share in the freedom to marry.
Our movement then worked to defend that breakthrough, and in June 2007, MassEquality, headed by Freedom to Marry’s national campaign director Marc Solomon, defeated a proposed discriminatory, anti-gay, anti-marriage constitutional amendment and secured marriage in our first state. Same-sex couples first began marrying on May 17, 2004, the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education — what I called at the time, “civil rights karma.”
~~2008–2010:
After Setback of Proposition 8 in California, the Freedom to Marry Movement Rebounds~~
Following the win in Massachusetts, opponents of the freedom to marry stampeded through a wave of discriminatory state constitutional amendments even as we steadily kept making the case and growing toward majority support. One of these attacks was Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian couples in California of the freedom to marry that NCLR, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU had won months earlier in the state supreme court. Prop 8 was a painful blow, eased only slightly by a freedom-to-marry victory in Connecticut, but the shock of the loss had the effect of galvanizing energy and engagement on the part of both gay and non-gay people.
Through all the inevitable ups and downs in any civil rights struggle and effort to transform understanding, our movement largely stuck with the Freedom to Marry strategy of setting the stage for a win in the Supreme Court by building a critical mass of states and public support. GLAD, Freedom to Marry, and movement colleagues moved forward on work to overturn DOMA, and despite Prop 8, 2009 became what I called then our “winningest” year to date. We won the freedom to marry in another four states (including Lambda Legal’s stunning victory in Iowa) and the nation’s capital, and built a majority for marriage nationwide (up from 27% at the time of the Hawaii trial).
~~2011: Triumph in New York:
Political Center of Gravity Shifts with Republican Support~~
Winning the freedom to marry in New York truly was a transformative moment for committed couples and for our country, a triumph for love and equality under the law. For the first time, a Republican-led chamber, the New York State Senate, joined the Democrat-led Assembly in passing bipartisan marriage legislation supported by a large number of America’s most prominent businesses, corporate leaders, labor unions, and professional athletes. And local and national groups’ willingness to come together in a joint campaign, New Yorkers United for Marriage, combined with hardball political heft from our partners at Gill Action and the leadership of Governor Cuomo, established a new model that we would replicate in state after state.
The win in New York more than doubled the number of Americans living in a freedom to marry state — and conclusively showed that despite the temporary setback of Proposition 8 and court losses, we would get the country to the right side of history. Our victory also signaled growing right-of-center support, prefigured by Dick Cheney’s famous quote, “Freedom means freedom for everyone.” Prominent conservatives such as Bob Barr (the author of DOMA) and Ted Olson began speaking out, and respected Republicans from Paul Singer to Ken Mehlman to Margaret Hoover began enlisting support. Today, 40% of all Republicans support the freedom to marry, alongside a substantial majority of Independents and a supermajority of Democrats.
~~2012:
First Sitting President & Major Political Party Endorses the Freedom to Marry~~
In May 2012, President Obama became the first sitting president to support the freedom to marry, joining the majority of Americans in their journey toward fairness. As important as the moral leadership he showed was his heartfelt explanation of how he had evolved thanks to conversations with people in his life, reflection on basic values, and a willingness to open his heart and change his mind. President Obama’s message incorporated the changed emphasis our movement had embraced in making the case for the freedom to marry: love, commitment, and family, rather than legalities or economic protections.
The president spoke of conversations with his daughters about their classmates being raised by gay parents, and talked about the values he sought to teach them, such as the Golden Rule. President Obama’s announcement gave permission to millions of Americans to think anew and move toward support, and sealed the deal on Freedom to Marry’s call for a platform plank. On September 4, 2012, the Democratic Party became the first major political party in U.S. history to endorse the freedom to marry.
~~2012: Election Day Brings Unprecedented Wins at the Ballot Box~~
On November 6, 2012, following 30 ballot losses in previous years, our movement won 4 out of 4 marriage ballot-measures in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington —vindicating our hard work to learn how build campaigns and persuade a majority to vote against discrimination targeting a small minority.
The victories were the result of millions of conversations and many months of work by local campaigns and volunteers, supported by Freedom to Marry and other partners. Freedom to Marry was the lead out-of-state funder in the Minnesota, Maine, and Washington campaigns, helping to raise and channel more than $7 million alongside strategic assistance and coordination.
~~2013: Supreme Court Strikes Down Core of So-Called Defense of Marriage Act~~
In June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the core of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, ending the exclusion of legally married same-sex couples from more than 1,000 federal protections. The Court held that DOMA “violates basic due process and equal protection” and that the “desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot justify disparate treatment of that group.” The powerful ruling has proved a mighty tool in the freedom-to-marry litigation that has followed, and the Obama Administration moved swiftly to assure federal respect for married couples across the country, even in states still discriminating.
With her compelling personal story tracing much of the history of our movement and its progress over decades, Edie Windsor touched hearts and exposed injustice, a perfect example of the power of individual stories in creating change. The same day, the Supreme Court also let stand a lower court ruling restoring the freedom to marry in California, four and a half years after the cruel blow of Prop 8.
~~2014: Momentum
Surging on a Dynamic Landscape, the Strategy Keeps Working, and America is Ready for the Freedom to Marry~~
Already, 2014 has been a huge year for the freedom to marry. As of May, advocates had won 16 our of 16 federal and state court decisions across the country; and there were more than 70 lawsuits underway seeking the freedom to marry or respect for same-sex couples’ marriages in more than 30 states. Polls show support at an all-time high of 59% among the American public. With the added constitutional clarity brought by the Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor and the presence and example of loving and committed married same-sex couples in every part of the country, the momentum we’ve created underscores that America — all of America — is ready for the freedom to marry.
This year Freedom to Marry celebrated its 10th anniversary as the campaign to win marriage equality nationwide. As our movement presses forward on the winning strategy with the goal in sight, Freedom to Marry is determined to keep doing the work and to finish the job so that we don’t have to have a 15th.
Marriage is about love, commitment, and family. Freedom to Marry’s Roadmap to Victory is the three track strategy to end marriage discrimination in the United States. Since 2004 a growing number of states and the District of Columbia have ended same sex couple exclusion from marriage. By winning more states, we’ll prove that families are helped and no one is harmed. Marriage matters to gay families and together we’ll transform momentum by asking our friends and family to stand for the Freedom to Marry.
Grow the majority for marriage by joining the campaign and signing the pledge at
It Is What It Is 