NY Post Praises Evan Wolfson

"In a rarity for any US advocacy group, Freedom to Marry is closing up shop 'simply' because it won. The move is applause-worthy because it’s so rare for any 'public interest' lobby. Most outfits just find some new cause to justify keeping the money rolling in. 'We achieved the goal we set out to do,' said Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry’s founder and president, when the Supreme Court ruled last month that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to get married. Instead of becoming 'an organization that flails around and figures out what to do next,' Wolfson will help the group’s 30 or so employees find other 'good-guy causes' to work on. Freedom to Marry has the class to roll the credits once the 'hero' has won. Here’s hoping it starts a trend." - From the editorial board of the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post.

Freedom To Marry: Celebrating Victory

Via press release:

Today, as it begins the promised campaign wind-down having achieved its goal of winning marriage nationwide, Freedom to Marry released a video celebrating the victory and featuring some of the many people, milestones, and hard work that paved the way. The video premiered at Freedom to Marry's Victory Celebration event last Thursday, July 9, where Vice President Joe Biden joined Wolfson and offered remarks that were a personal and powerful tribute to the Freedom to Marry campaign and the movement it spearheaded. Over 1,000 movement leaders and supporters attended, and the event included performances by Carly Rae Jepsen and Lena Hall. Freedom to Marry will be closing down many of its operations by September 30 and will shut its doors completely in the following months.

NEW YORK: Biden Celebrates At Freedom To Marry's "Going Out Of Business" Gala

Via the New York Daily News:

Vice President Joe Biden led a raucous reception for marriage equality Thursday night at Cipriani Wall Street in lower Manhattan. The gala, celebrating the June 26 Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states, was thrown by Freedom to Marry, an advocacy group that has fought for same-sex marriage since 2003. “This has been a heroic battle,” Biden told the crowd of elected officials, community leaders, advocates and celebrities. A spokesman described the event as “the biggest celebratory event honoring the freedom to marry nationwide” and “a ‘going out of business’ party” for the organization.

Evan Wolfson, the founder of Freedom to Marry, worked for Biden in the 1970s when Biden was a senator. The vice president has long been a supporter of gay rights and attributed his stance on the issue to his father. Biden recalled a moment when he was 17 and he and his father saw two men kissing. “He said ‘Joey, they love each other. It’s simple,’” he said, quoting his father. “That’s what it’s been about from the beginning. It’s never been that complicated for me.” But Biden also cautioned that although same-sex couples are eligible for federal marriage benefits nationwide, 32 states don’t have anti-discrimination employment laws protecting sexual orientation.

Biden departed the stage to a thunderous ovation and then spent a few minutes shaking hands and posing for photos. (I couldn't get near him.) Musical entertainment followed with Hedwig Tony winner Lena Hall and pop star Carly Rae Jepson. It was quite the celebration but all were especially appreciative that Biden repeatedly stressed the work that still needs to be done. Related to that, I cornered Freedom To Marry leaders Evan Wolfson and Marc Solomon to ask what is next for them personally. Both said they didn't know, but I suspect we'll soon see them take roles in the still-forming battle for federal anti-discrimination protections.

RELATED: There was some buzz in the crowd that Biden might surprise us with a presidential announcement last night, but he made no mention of the 2016 election.

Quote Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

"I always believed we would win, but what a joy and relief it was when our victory came. As I read the Supreme Court opinion, as I followed the stories across the country of couples getting married, and as so many people wrote me with wonder, attaching pictures of their families, their kids, their weddings ... well, I cried and cried again.

"We won. We did it. The freedom to marry is now the law of the land throughout our whole country. At long last, loving and committed same-sex couples are able to share in the joy, the protections, the vocabulary, and the institution of marriage.

"We've been fighting this campaign for decades, and not a single step has come easily. To overcome the obstacles and to seize the opportunities, with stumbles and then successes, we built a machine that could guide and leverage a movement, driving a strategy — and machines take fuel. Without your support, this transformation and triumph would not have happened.

"And our win is America's win. Love won. We all did.

"Now — as Freedom to Marry prepares to wind down — we must remember that there's still much work to do in our own LGBT movement and in the broader movements we are part of.

"I am grateful to my incomparable Freedom to Marry team, our close movement colleagues, the entire family of supporters and partners in the work, our allies, and our country. How lucky we are to see our work rewarded with the change and victory we sought and deserved.

"All that's left is to say, with all my heart, is congratulations — mazel tov! — and thank you." - Freedom To Marry founder Evan Wolfson, via email.

Quote Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

"With a nationwide landslide in favor, Ireland now becomes the first country in the world to pass the freedom to marry by popular referendum, as well as the 21st nation and the 10th predominantly Catholic country in which same-sex couples can marry. Our Irish colleagues at Yes Equality ran a magnificent campaign and Freedom to Marry is proud to have shared what we’ve learned in our own campaign here in the US. The global momentum for the freedom to marry reflects and reinforces the progress we are making here in the United States – and we look now to the Supreme Court to bring our country to national resolution, following Ireland’s good example." - Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom To Marry, via press release.

GLAD: From Goodridge To Obergefell

Important history from GLAD:

"On April 28, 2015, Mary Bonauto will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court for the freedom to marry for all same-sex couples nationwide. In 2001 Mary and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed the case that first brought marriage equality to the U.S. - with the landmark 2003 Goodridge v. Department of Public Health decision in Massachusetts. This is the story of that historic victory, and how far we've come on marriage equality to get us where we are today. Featuring two of the couples who fought to marry in Goodridge, Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, Evan Wolfson, Mary Bonauto and more."

General Mills Puts Freedom To Marry Head Evan Wolfson On The Wheaties Box

Freedom To Marry: "Wheaties is 'the breakfast of champions' and General Mills, its parent company, is a supporter of the freedom to marry. So, it's pretty cool that they created a commemorative box featuring Freedom to Marry's President Evan Wolfson." Uh oh, time for double boycott!

Evan Wolfson: Opposition To The Freedom To Marry Is The Dog That Didn't Bark

"America’s history tells us there will always be pockets of resistance to any civil rights advance. That is why your article about a few state officials proposing license to discriminate measures to limit existing civil rights laws they never liked anyway was not surprising. But despite a handful of apocalyptic pronouncements that marriage will be destroyed, as will America, all is pretty quiet amid much joy. No widespread resistance. No riots in the streets. The reality is that opposition to the freedom to marry is the dog that didn’t bark.

"In fact, as states issue marriage licenses to loving and committed gay couples, public support increases. In Wyoming, polls show that a majority now supports the freedom to marry, while even in ruby-red Utah, there is plurality support and the law has been followed. Fifty-nine percent of the American people and over 60 state and federal courts have embraced the freedom to marry, and we’ve ended marriage discrimination in 37 states. That is more support and more states than we had when the Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage in the best-named case ever, Loving v. Virginia.

"What followed Loving in 1967 is precisely what we are seeing now, even in red states where we have won: The overwhelming majority moves on. Notwithstanding isolated grandstanding and sideshows, the majority of the country has again moved to the right side of history. As in 1967, America is ready for the freedom to marry." - Freedom To Marry founder Evan Wolfson, in a letter published today by the New York Times.

Tweet Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

NEW YORK CITY: At The Out 100 Party

Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims and boyfriend Brandon McMullin were among the gay glitterati in attendance at last night's Out 100 party at Stage 48 in Hell's Kitchen. Also seen above are Out 100 honorees Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson with his husband Cheng He, journalist Chris Geidner, Liz Margolies, founder of the National LGBT Cancer Network, and her trans activist husband Scout, director of LGBT Health Link. Orange Is The New Black actress Lea DeLaria hosted and pop singer Mary Lambert was among the performers. I hung out for a bit with NYC Councilman Corey Johnson and Dan Pepitone (above) and caught glimpses of Jason Collins and Zachary Quinto, but didn't get a chance to grab a photo, dammit.

Tweet Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

Brian Brown Vs Evan Wolfson

This weekend Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson faced down hate group leader Brian Brown in an hour-long call-in show on C-SPAN. After you wade through Brown's opening bloviation, you'll get to a great statement by Wolfson.  

UPDATE: OMG, the caller at 12:45.  

UPDATE II: The caller at 29:30 is wonderful.  

UPDATE III: At 43:00 Wolfson nails Brown on being at that anti-gay Kremlin conference.

Wolfson: "Mr. Brown was in Russia, people can go and look it up, for something called the World Conference [Congress] Of Families, that endorsed a resolution calling on other countries to adopt the same kind of vicious, brutal, sweeping anti-gay law that Putin's Russia just enacted that has launched a wave of thuggery and beatings in the street and discrimination against gay people in that country that is now seeking to export that kind of attack. That's not about marriage. That's about beating up and in some cases killing and licensing thuggery. Mr. Brown was part of that conference and that's part of the work he is doing."

Brown: "That's absolutely wrong."

Wolfson: "People can look it up. "

Brown: "His facts are absolutely wrong. All people can look up are Evan Wolfson's and Human Rights Campaign's absolute lies and slurs."

BOOM. That's EXACTLY what EVERY activist who debates Brian Brown should be saying. Huge props to Evan Wolfson.

Freedom To Marry Head Evan Wolfson: We've Reached Critical Mass On Marriage

Freedom To Marry Celebrates 10 Years

Last night I attended the tenth anniversary celebration of Freedom To Marry. The evening included a performance by Tony winner Laura Benanti and a gorgeous short film based on a new poem by Richard Blanco, who read his work at Obama's 2012 inauguration. (The film will debut at Cannes next month.) Pictured above: CNN commentator Margaret Hoover,  Freedom To Marry founder Evan Wolfson, Freedom To Marry national campaign director Marc Solomon, and the evening's emcee, Cynthia Nixon. AFER's Matt Baume was in attendance and he provides us with the below photo of Wolfson and Ken Mehlman, who was one of the evening's top sponsors.

Which Case Will Get To SCOTUS First?

While various legal groups jockey to get to the Supreme Court, Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson speaks about the marriage equality cases currently before the various circuit courts of appeal:

Presumably, we will soon - meaning, in a matter of months - have rulings from one or more of the federal appellate courts. Then there's the possibility of further procedures as to whether the three-judge panels in those courts that will rule will then go to the broader, full panel of the entire circuit courts [a process called en banc review]. That could consume a few more months. When that gets resolved (either by bypassing that step or by having another set of arguments and further round of decisions), then whoever loses that ultimate appeals court ruling may ask the Supreme Court to hear the case. That's called "seeking cert." That stage then requires another few months of briefing and argument, with one side saying the Supreme Court should hear the case and the other side saying the Court should not hear the case. Then, it's up to the Supreme Court to decide whether it's going to take one of the cases or not. It takes only four of the nine justices to vote to hear a case.

There are presently 65 marriage equality lawsuits in progress in 31 states and US territories. Freedom To Marry has posted a handy chart.

Freedom To Marry Poll: Majority In Non-Marriage States Support Marriage

Chris Geidner writes at Buzzfeed:

In a memorandum being distributed Thursday by the group [Evan] Wolfson founded a little more than a decade ago, Freedom to Marry details “the Pathway to Winning Marriage Nationwide” in light of these and other recent developments. “What we’re trying to do in the memo is underscore that, while there will be flash points, there will be things that aren’t 100% predictable — like, when a ruling comes where — the fact that there is this litigation is part of the strategy and part of the momentum and part of, though not the entirety of, the work that is needed — all of which is about setting the stage for a successful return to the Supreme Court,” he said. The pathway, to put it simply, is a trip back to the Supreme Court.

Bolding is mine. About the poll:

The survey, conducted Dec. 2–8, 2013, by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research for Freedom to Marry, broke down support into regions, with Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin respondents — the central region — favoring marriage equality by a 23-point margin (59% favor, 36% oppose). Respondents in the western region — Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming — favored marriage by a 19-point margin (53% favor, 34% oppose). In the South, which included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, respondents were split evenly (46% favor, 46% oppose). Finally — and another data point that could help explain Wolfson’s changed tone — 56% of the survey’s respondents believe that it is likely that marriage for same-sex couples will be legal in their state in a couple of years.

Read more from Geidner's lengthy interview with Wolfson and the plan to bring marriage back to the Supreme Court.

Quote Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

"I don’t think it is as simple as Hollywood does a really good movie, and Hollywood does a really good TV show, and everyone changes their mind. Obviously, it doesn’t work that way. What really changes people’s minds over time is personal conversations with people they trust….but ‘Will & Grace’ and Ellen DeGeneres and others who are out there create a climate that encourages people to have those conversations. It is oversimplifying to say Hollywood can win this just by being Hollywood, but it is 100 percent true to say Hollywood has a major role to play in creating the climate and enabling individuals to have conversations." - Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson, in an interview with Variety.

RELATED: Last month Rick Santorum told a group of GOP leaders that he blames Will & Grace for the successes of the LGBT rights movement.

Tweet Of The Day - Evan Wolfson

Courts, legislature, & public (super-majority) in #NewJersey all support the @freedomtomarry. Time for @ChrisChristie to stop blocking it.

— Evan Wolfson (@evanwolfson) September 27, 2013

Evan Wolfson Endorses Christine Quinn

Unlike Dustin Lance Black and George Takei, Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson actually lives in New York City.

Evan Wolfson Vs Tony Perkins

Today on Face The Nation, hate group leader Tony Perkins dismissed national polls, saying that "the polls that really are the polls that are taken when the people vote on it."  Note that Perkins says that two states have voted in favor of same-sex marriage when that number is actually four.

(Via Good As You)