Everyone at Family Equality Council is so excited about celebrating the 1st annual International Family Equality Day – a day to honor the love that binds all families and rejoice in the victories along our path to full family equality around the world.
On Sunday, May 6, 2012, Family Equality Council, in partnership with LGBT family organizations around the world, will be holding celebratory events from New York City to Los Angeles, and to Geneva to Toronto.
And LGBT families, friends and allies certainly have much to celebrate.
Check out our top 5 reasons for LGBT families to celebrate:
5. LGBT families invited by President Obama to the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll.
4. Because of the work of Family Equality Council, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that same-sex couples and their children would be allowed to go through customs when re-entering the country. Previously, same-sex families and their children had to use separate forms unless they could prove they were related “by blood, marriage, or adoption.” This new rule broadens CBP’s definition of family to include the LGBT community.
3. We’ve won marriage equality in New York, Maryland, and Washington State! And Proposition was 8 overturned by California’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court upheld the 2008 amendment is unconstitutional.
2. The coalition to pass the Every Child Deserves A Family Act – a federal bill which would open more homes for foster youth and help end discrimination of LGBT prospective parents in the adoption process – has seen multiple signs of success, including the bill’s first senate introduction in November.
1. The Family Equality Council, in partnership with Movement Advancement Project, released the first comprehensive report on how social and legal inequality impacts the children of LGBT parents, a ground-breaking tool for LGBT family advocacy.
For all these reasons and more, join us for an International Family Equality Day on Sunday, May 6. We can’t wait to hear what your family is most excited about celebrating!
For more information about these free, community events, click here.
I can’t wait to celebrate with you,
Andra Oshinsky, Programs Associate