Marriage Equality California

Marriage Equality California

Founder(s)	L.J. Carusone, Michael Thurber, Jim DeLaHunt, Molly McKay, Davina Kotulski
Type	501(c)(3)
Founded	1998
Location	Venice, CA, USA
Area served	California, USA
Focus	Gay rights
Method	Campaigning, Advocacy, Public Speaking
Motto	"To secure the freedom and the right of same-sex couples to enter into legally recognized civil marriage, having all the federal and state benefits and responsibilities which that entails."
Website	www.marriageequalityca.com
Dissolved	Merged with Equality California in 2004 [1]

Marriage Equality California (Marriage Equality CA, or MECA) is the now defunct California chapter of Marriage Equality USA.Founded in 1998, MECA was the grassroots organization fighting to secure the legal recognition of same-sex marriage through education and outreach in California.^[2] Its mission statement is to secure the freedom and the right of same-sex couples to enter into legally recognized civil marriage, having all the federal and state benefits and responsibilities which that entails. Marriage Equality California merged with it coalition organization Equality California in 2004.^[3] Most of the work performed by Marriage Equality California is now performed as a local project of its original parent organization Marriage Equality USA.

History

Under the leadership of L.J. Carusone, Michael Thurber, Jim DeLaHunt, Molly McKay, Davina Kotulski, Brian Davis and Sean Conklin, the Marriage Equality California Chapter was created. Between 1998 - 2002, Marriage Equality California was the primary advocate for marriage equality in California, and was an advocate California Assembly bill 1338 providing the option for same sex-couples in California to enter into a civil union.^{[citation needed]} On February 12, 2001, the New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Chapters went to the county clerk's offices and asked for marriage licenses, a tradition that continued every February and spread throughout the 58 counties of California.^[4][5] Notably Marriage Equality California was entirely volunteer driven with no paid staff, and educated Californians through rallies & demonstrations, educational programs, outreach, and media representation.

See also

LGBT portal

• LGBT rights in the United States

Footnotes

1. ^ http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=789
2. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-13660165_ITM
3. ^ http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=789
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/9402/

External links

• Statewide Website (C.A.)
• National Website (U.S.)
• Marriage Equality USA National Media Center
• We the People (official blog)
• Why You Should Give A Damn About Gay Marriage
• [2]
• [3]