The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today hand-delivered an online petition which 46,000 users signed to the Washington, DC offices of Kirkland & Ellis where Ken Starr is of counsel. Starr argued before the California Supreme Court to both uphold Proposition 8, which bans marriage between loving same sex couples, and to strike down the 18,000 marriages performed when marriage equality was legal in the state.
To view video of the delivery of the petitions, visit http://www.endthelies.org.
The petition drive was featured on EndtheLies.org, a new HRC action-based website launched to confront the lies and distortions repeatedly used to defeat LGBT equality measures. Also today, four new profiles were added to the interactive site: Colorado State Senator Scott Renfroe, right-wing radio personality Rush Limbaugh, and GOP Chairman Michael Steele, and the Washington Values Alliance.
Starr has referred to the struggle for marriage equality as "seizing and hijacking the marriage relationship in order to achieve apartheid-type values," (see source) was the site's first target of the grassroots action. EndtheLies.org launched on March 5, the day of the California high court arguments.
"This kind of response to the lies repeatedly used to block our equality demonstrates that many Americans have had enough," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "Grassroots tools like EndtheLies.org will be critical to our community's upcoming legislative battles, including passing the Matthew Shepard Act in 111th Congress."
The four additions to the site include Colorado Sen. Renfroe who gained notoriety when he compared homosexuality with murder during a legislative debate. Limbaugh has repeatedly made anti-gay statements, including a comment accusing LGBT students of "trumpeting" their sexuality and "inviting dissent." Steele, who once chaired a political action committee urging the Republican Party to be more inclusive of LGBT people, has apparently abandoned those efforts and recently called civil unions "crazy." The Washington Values Alliance has been spreading lies about a Washington State bill that would establish equal benefits for couples registered as domestic partners, including that children will not be safe in schools because it will be illegal to speak against marriage for lesbian and gay couples.
The EndtheLies.org interactive wall includes videos, audio, pictures, and quotes from the anti-gay figures it highlights. By clicking on the panels of the wall, users can access more information about those on the wall, watch videos, add comments on multimedia discussion boards, and learn how to take action to counteract their misdeeds. Along with Ken Starr and the four new additions, the wall currently features the American Family Association (AFA), the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern, and Utah State Senator Chris Buttars. Users can also nominate their own candidates for inclusion on the wall.
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