At VFE’s next canvass, this Saturday, June 30th, we have an unprecedented opportunity.

President Obama’s announcement in favor of same-sex marriage has been all over the news, along with endless speculation about what impact his words will have on voters (African American voters in particular.) But so far, where LGBT rights are concerned, the only clear answer is that no one has any answers. Will the President’s endorsement change how voters see us? Could this turn of events help us break our streak of devastating ballot box losses? At the moment, no one knows. And with Maryland, Washington, Maine, and Minnesota all facing elections on same-sex marriage in a mere four months, we can’t wait for answers. We need to find out what’s going on on the ground with the people who will be deciding on our rights, right now.

So please join us this Saturday as we partner with the Jordan Rustin Coalition to conduct what we believe will be the first attempt anywhere to unearth what the President’s statement is REALLY going to mean for our community come November. We’ll be showing voters in South L.A. a brand new ad we’ve created which features the story of the President’s evolution on marriage equality and we’ll be testing his words against our opposition’s messaging. The data that comes out of this canvass could be truly invaluable to the states that are already fighting hard to win in November, but only if we have enough canvassers to get meaningful results. Will you do your part for marriage equality across the country?

Like all of our actions, a full training will be provided – no previous experience or knowledge required. There’s no time to spare, and WE NEED YOU!

This Saturday, June 30th – 9:30am-4:30pm
Meeting at Holy Faith Episcopal Church – 260 N Locust St, Inglewood, CA, 90301

Contact Jackson Darling at jdarling@lagaycenter.org to find out more or let us know you’re coming!

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In the last three years we’ve had powerful, personal, heart-and-mind-changing conversations with THOUSANDS of voters across Los Angeles. But how can we be 100% sure we’re swaying people onto our side in earnest and doing what it takes to keep them there for good?

It’s an incredibly important question to answer, so this Saturday we’re gonna do just that! Join us for our semiannual second contact phone bank, where we’ll be calling back the voters we’ve talked to at the door and conducting a neutral survey to find out how they feel about LGBT rights six months or even a year after we met them. These are fun, easy conversations, but we need to have a LOT of them, so we need you!

THIS Saturday, June 16th – 10:00am-2:00pm
Vote for Equality’s Office at The Village, 1125 N McCadden Place, 90038

Contact Virginia at vmillacci@lagaycenter.org to let us know you’re coming or to find out more!

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Time is flying – summer has already begun and every day we draw closer to November, when four states across the country will once again be voting on same-sex marriage. Can you envision a world where our friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens vote to uphold the rights and dignity of our community instead of knocking us down? It can happen, for the first time, in a matter of months, but only if we put the work in NOW. You can make the difference from right here in LA – join us Saturday to find out how!

Vote for Equality Marriage Canvass – Saturday June 2nd  – 9:30AM – 4:30PM
Meeting in Bedwell Hall at the Cudahy Recreation Center
522o Santa Ana St, Cudahy, 90201

Get in touch with Steve at sdeline@lagaycenter.org or (323) 405-7563 to let us know you’re coming or to find out more!

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We’re headed for a turning point.

President Obama’s historic announcement of support for marriage equality was thrilling to behold, and his backing gives us more of an opening than ever to render our opposition’s age-old lies about LGBTQ people obsolete, once and for all. But make no mistake, this is an opening, not a guarantee.

The president’s words have thrust our rights onto center stage in November, so this is an opening for our opposition, as well. And as we’ve learned in every election on same-sex marriage, right up through our heartbreaking loss in North Carolina last week, the other side never wastes an opening. They seize control, fool well-meaning people into believing that LGBTQ people are broken or damaged, and scare parents into thinking that we’re a threat to children. So now we each face a question: are we going to learn what it takes to win in the face of fierce TV attacks from our opponents, or will we let them defeat us yet again?

At Vote for Equality we’ve been working hard since Prop 8 to be ready for a moment like this. We’ve pioneered new methods, learned how to reach voters where they live and keep them in our corner, and begun to craft new media messages strong enough to withstand our opposition’s anti-LGBT attacks. But the closer we get to lasting solutions, the more help we need to close the deal, which is why we truly need you.

In November, four states are likely to be voting on marriage equality. Two of our staff just returned from Minnesota, where they shared VFE’s learning to help leaders there prepare for their rapidly-evolving campaign against a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. We’re in a unique position to help these other states in a pivotal way, right here in Los Angeles. But ONLY if we have enough conversations, prep enough turf, and crunch enough data to learn what we need to learn in time. And that time is short.

Will you come do your part? Whether you can come talk to voters, film other canvassers talking to voters, help us prepare materials or enter data, or even help us learn how to have persuasion conversations with people in our own lives, we need you today like never before.

How our society sees us in November is up to us, and whether we speak up for ourselves right now. Please stand with us today. There are all kinds of ways you can get involved, but here are the next big events on the horizon:

Night of Action
Thursday, May 24th – VFE’s Office at The Village – 6:30PM-9:30PM
1125 N McCadden Place, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Our fun, social weekly event where we prep for each canvass and crunch data afterwards.

Door-to-Door Voter Persuasion Canvass
Saturday June 2nd – Downey – 9:30AM-4:00PM
Meeting Site TBA

Door-to-Door Voter Persuasion Canvass
Saturday June 30th – South LA – 9:30AM-4:00PM
Meeting at Holy Faith Episcopal Church – 260 N Locust St, Inglewood, 90301

Full trainings are provided at all of our events, no previous experience is necessary.

Come join us and bring friends! Get in touch with Jackson at jdarling@lagaycenter.org to find out more about these events or about volunteering with us in general. Or just to let us know you’re coming!

And if you’re interested having persuasive conversations with people in your own life, contact Pat Mulligan at pmulligan@lagaycenter.org to learn about our new People-You-Know conversation program.

We can’t wait to see you. Let’s get to work.

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