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Today TruthandHope.org released it’s first in a series of statewide ads that seek to support the ground efforts of so many groups canvassing for equality throughout our state, with an online and over the airwaves campaign to share real stories which connect with voters on a deeply visceral and emotional level. Â Let us put the proper face(s) on the issue of equality. Â This is not about a subgroup, or some hidden “them” as the failure to showcase real families in 2008 implied, but friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members with the same highs, the same lows, the same dreams of love, relationship and Equality we all share and this campaign will prove that.
The fight for marriage equality in California began long before the passing of Prop 8, and will continue until it is achieved. Â As the effort to repeal Prop 8 continues to grow, we begin our contribution today with the first in a state-wide series of television ads that share real stories in order to change hearts and minds.
Watch now as Frank Reifsnyder with his wife Diane, shares the story of his family: Son Frank, his husband Jim Reifsnyder-Smith & their beautiful children Milo and Kaylee. Frank & Jim celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary on June 16, 2009.
Thank you to Andrew Putschoegl for sharing this story with us. Â We are eternally grateful for his creative vision, direction and editing which so simply and elegantly invites us to share a glimpse into the lives of this wonderful family.
There are many groups in the state that have come together to do their part for equality. TruthandHope.Org will do its part by creating a supportive media campaign to amplify the efforts on the ground, community by community with ads created to target each market with local stories and outreach to each demographic. Â This is a massive undertaking, but it is the right thing to do and the clear path to victory.
The raw emotion and irresistible connection a viewer experiences when they witness genuine stories featuring subjects who they learn are more like themselves than different is vital to this effort. Â When Frank shares that “it may not be the family we had imagined, but it is the family we have and love. Â We wouldn’t change it for anything.”, this is no longer a story within the context of the same-sex marriage debate, but it’s a story that is relatable to most of us, even if the details may be different, for who really has the “family they imagined?”
We firmly believe that this is not an LGBT issue, but a progressive issue, a democratic issue, a human issue. We further believe that support for Equality cannot be picked and chosen based on subgroups, but can only exist in one form, which is Equality for all and in all forms.
We are honored to do our part and here is how you can help right now:
1) Join our mailing list at TruthandHope.org and share this video and/or this diary ten people and click the DIGG link above
2) Join our Facebook group and invite anyone you know who supports equality
3) Contribute what you can today. Â Every $25, $50, $100 or more supports production and airing of these ads that share the stories necessary to change hearts and mind, not for a moment but forever.
Thank You For All That You Do,
Eugene Hedlund
Founder/Chair
TruthandHope.Org