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The Freedom to Marry Foundation is a public education organization dedicated to stronger,
more secure gay and lesbian families, and to the preservation of equal civil marriage for same-sex couples.
Mission
Incorporated as a 501(c)3 in the year 2000, the Freedom to Marry Foundation's sole purpose
is to educate the public about same-sex marriage issues. Now that equal marriage is a legal and social reality,
our goals remain much the same: We present the human face of the marriage issue.
The Foundation demonstrates that same-sex marriage - and gay and lesbian families in general - only enrich our society.
Programs and Accomplishments
1. Speakers Bureau
Through the creation of our public speaker training program, the Foundation has trained 75-plus residents
in Massachusetts to speak on the marriage issue. In addition to having better informed conversations with friends,
family, and colleagues, some trainees opt to join our Speakers Bureau, presenting our 1-hour program, titled
Marriage 101: Equal Rights for Gay and Lesbian Couples, at universities, communities of faith, civic organizations,
and various other groups statewide. This program combines details about the legal and social importance
of civil marriage with the personal stories of our speakers.
We have worked with SpeakOut at the state-level, and Freedom to Marry (NYC) to increase the range and breadth
of the material we cover in our trainings. Additionally, our training materials have been adapted for use
by organizations in Connecticut and Vermont, and are available for adaptation in other states as well.
Click here to request a speaker for your organization.
us for information
on our next speaker training session.
2. Media Training
As an extension of our speaker training, we have held a variety of training programs to help our volunteers
and allies speak about marriage in the media. The range of these sessions has included everything
from writing letters to the editor and op-eds, to actually talking with reporters on the marriage issue.
In June 2003, for example, we partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
on a television interview training for couples from key locations outside of the Greater Boston-metro area.
us for information
on our next media training session.
3. Public Forums
The Foundation has - in partnership with organizations such as Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD),
The Family Pride Coalition, Plymouth No Place for Hate, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry,
and various other organizations, individual attorneys, and same-sex couples - produced two different public forum series.
a) Until Civil Marriage: Protecting Your Family Today explained the few (but vital) legal protections
available to same-sex couples and their families prior to gaining equal civil marriage rights.
b) Down the Aisle to Equality: Civil Marriage for Same-Sex Couples in the Courts and Legislature -
A Massachusetts Community Conversation was a town hall-type discussion that addressed the legal and political
situation in Massachusetts as we awaited the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in the Goodridge case summer of 2003.
Please note, there are no forums scheduled for Summer 2004.
4. Diversity Outreach
In 2001, the Foundation partnered with local and national organizations to hold the first meeting
for People of Color in Massachusetts to begin the discussion around the same-sex marriage issue.
We addressed common language, similarities and differences of points of view between LGBT persons
and organizations across several racial lines. Attendees at this meeting, as well as other leaders
from Communities of Color, the Transgender Community, and Faith Communities have worked with the
marriage movement in Massachusetts to help reach a more diverse constituency.
The Freedom to Marry Coalition encourages Transgendered persons
or People of Color to explore membership on our Board of Directors.
us if you are interested
in serving on our Board of Directors.
5. Faces of Family
The Freedom to Marry Foundation has developed a unique two-part project called Faces of Family.
Designed as both an instillation displayed at public events statewide, and a website
(on hiatus for redesign, June 2004) this project is a visual display of hundreds of families
who support equality for same-sex couples.
6. History in the Making (Upcoming Projects - Summer 2004)
During Summer 2004, we are building several history/archival projects designed to preserve the momentous events
from November 2003 through May 2004. The first of these, titled The Wedding Album, is an extension of Faces of Family,
and commemorates the first week of equality for same-sex families in Massachusetts.
This album will combined stories and photos from town halls as couples began filing their intent to marry,
through weddings and numerous celebrations that began on Monday, 17 May 2004.
Look for the Web version of this project in late Summer 2004.
us for more information
about our history projects,
or would like to contribute stories or photos to them.
Board of Directors
Joshua Legg, President
Lowell Partridge, Treasurer
Valerie Fein-Zachary
Robert DeBenedictis
Advisory Board
Mandy Carter, Executive Director, Southerners on New Ground
Josh Friedes, Advocacy Director, The Freedom to Marry Coalition of MA
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