Press Release
May 26, 2009

Contact:
Anne-Marie Williams, JRC Organizer
213.618.9468
Williams@jordanrustincoalition.org

THE JORDAN/RUSTIN COALITION VOWS TO STAY ENGAGED IN THE FIGHT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY.

(Los Angeles, CA, May 26, 2009)  The Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition (Jordan/Rustin Coalition or JRC), the primary organization devoted to organizing the African-American community’s commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality in greater Los Angeles , expressed profound  disappointment in the court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8.  Last November Proposition 8 stripped LGBT citizens of  marriage  equality originally granted by the California Supreme Court in its May 2008 decision (In re Marriage Cases).

JRC Board Chair Ron Buckmire stated, “While we celebrate the decision of the Court to uphold marriages by same-sex couples performed before November 4, 2008,  JRC will continue  to work to secure marriage equality so that  once again same-sex couples will be able  to  enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as all other married couples in California.”

“We have to look at this as we lost the battle but we will win the war,” said Jordan/Rustin Coalition’s staffer Anne-Marie Williams.  “We will be even more focused on having one on one conversations about marriage equality with our friends, neighbors, co-workers and community to make sure the public support of equality for all remains a steadfast principle here in California.   The court’s decision is not good for California. Instead of living up to California’s reputation of being on the cutting edge, California now takes a back seat to more progressive states like Iowa, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, who have extended marriage equality to same-sex couples.

In the wake of Proposition 8 the Jordan/Rustin Coalition has engaged in a number of important partnerships and educational efforts to engage the entire state of California in an open dialogue about marriage equality and its relevance to communities of color.  JRC will join other groups in Fresno, CA for the “Meet in the Middle” event on Saturday, May 30, 2009 in a show of solidarity on behalf of the marriage equality cause.