Good charity that supports same sex marriage?

simplestlife

I hope it's not rude to ask this here. If it is, I'm very very sorry. I thought I might find some poitically active people here that can point us in the right direction. I tried google and didn't get much info.

My FI and I (we are not a same sex couple) want to donate to an organization that fights for same sex marriage rights in honor of our wedding. On our wedding day we want to ackknowledge our friends and family that do not have the same rights as we do and bring attention to a cause we both feel strongly about. 

Some charities we have looked at are EQCA (we live in California), Courage Campaign, and WhiteKnot.org. 

Any feedback on these organizations? Any other suggestions?

Also...any suggestions on how to do this without being obnoxious or offending our friends and family in same sex couples?

Thanks!!

wolfgrin312

Honestly, I doubt that your donation to an organization that supports same-sex marriage equality would really offend any friends you have who are LBGT.  If so, tell them to stop acting like a queen. 

As far as ideas go, I've seen a lot of folks add in the wording used in Massachusetts into their ceremony, or a display of the 1,100 federal rights that homosexual couples don't receive.  Or wording in your wedding program, etc. etc.  There's really no limit to what you can do.  Again, I doubt that anyone who is in the LGBT community would be offended - unless you outed them directly, or somehow put the spotlight on them and made them uncomfortable.

Human Rights Campaign is another good organization you might want to look at.  hrc.org.

Thanks for your support for our rights!  And congrats on your upcoming nuptials!

davenport52803

I'd probably stay away from GLAAD and HRC becuse they seem to have too much political clout, but they dont seem to get alot accomplished for us. At least thats my feeling.

maggiemay33

I kind of agree with the assessment of HRC and GLADD that has already been presented. 

Some alternatives: 

Lambda Legal - http://www.lambdalegal.org/

Equality California (since you're in LA) - http://www.eqca.org

Family Equality Council - http://www.familyequality.org

Freedom to Marry - http://www.freedomtomarry.org/

Then a long list of orgs from wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_rights_organizations

Hope this is helpful! 

simplestlife

Thanks for the feedback everyone!!

I've been considering Equality California (EQCA) because they have a noticeable presence here in Los Angeles, and I think overturning prop 8 in CA is high on my priority list. At the same time, it seems like only a small part of what they do is connected to marriage equality, which is which I was considering an organization like White Knot, which is more focused on legalizing gay marriage.

I've donated to the Courage Campaign in the past, but they've widened their scope beyond gay rights, and I'm not sure I agree with all their political tactics.

I just looked at Freedom to Marry and they seem like a great organization. Thanks!

FruitSister

Human Rights Campaign - they work nation-wide and we (about to be married) are grateful for the work they do.

utterrandomness

I agree with the previous post, looking for local organizations that support LGBTQ* youth would be a good idea. While same-sex marriage is an important issue, personally, I wouldn't be thinking about marriage if I hadn't made it to adulthood first and youth organizations are a big part of that.

Lynne333

Congratulations on your wedding, and kudos for helping others win the right to marry! Another idea would be to donate to Equality Maine or Equal Rights Washington. Maine definitely and Washington very likely will have ballot referendums on gay marriage coming up in November. Every time we win another state, it helps move the whole country toward marriage equality.

http://equalitymaine.org/

http://www.equalrightswashington.org/