Send an email to Obama to Dump Rev. Rick Warren

From: http://www.dumprickwarren.com/

December 19, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama
Presidential Transition Office
Washington, DC 20270

Dear President-elect Obama:

The gay and lesbian community, our millions of friends and all other fair minded Americans are extremely hurt and angry with your choice of Reverend Rick Warren to give the invocation at your Inauguration next month.

In an interview just 4 days ago, Reverend Warren compared gay marriage to legitimizing incest, child abuse, and polygamy. He said:

"I'm opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I'm opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage." –Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, December 15, 2008

How can he talk about loving same-sex couples who wish to marry like everyone else in this cruel way? This guy is a bigot plain and simple. He has a long history of saying mean and hateful things to so many Americans with whom he does not agree, that he seems an odd fit into your celebration as you assume the Presidency of the United States.

So today we are asking you to dump Rick Warren from delivering the invocation at your swearing in ceremony.

We will be launching a new web site www.dumprickwarren.com to ask others to join in our effort to help persuade you to choose another man or woman to take this place of honor at your historic Inauguration.

We hope that you will drop Reverend Warren soon, and instead pick one of the thousands of religious leaders who don’t offend the gay and lesbian community and so many other Americans.

You campaigned and were elected to unite this country and your removal of Rick Warren would go a long way toward achieving that goal.

Rick Warren was a major supporter of California’s Proposition 8, the successful ballot initiative to ban gay marriage. Many prominent national gay leaders have called for Reverend Warren to step aside or for you to remove him.

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, declared your invitation to Rick Warren a “genuine blow” to gay Americans. “And by inviting Rick Warren to your Inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table,” he wrote.

Equality California Executive Director, Geoff Kors said yesterday that, “I have decided to decline the invitation to attend the inauguration as I cannot be part of a celebration that highlights and gives voice to someone who advocated repealing rights from me and millions of other Californians.

Mr. President-elect, we know that you are trying to be inclusive at your Inaugural and in your administration and we applaud that. We, however, strongly urge you to do the right thing and reconsider your choice of Rick Warren. If you drop Rick Warren, it will send a loud and clear message to America and the world that you do not tolerate discrimination and hatred from anyone.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely yours,
Fred Karger
Founder
www.CaliforniansAgainstHate.com

Vanasco: Tammy Baldwin named honorary inaugural co-chair

from: http://www.365gay.com/news/vanasco-tammy-baldwin-named-honorary-inaugural-co-chair/

By Jennifer Vanasco
12.22.2008 5:08pm EST
President-Obama is nothing if not politically savvy.

Perhaps as a bone to gays upset over Rick Warren’s invitation to give the opening prayer during the inaugural ceremony, the openly lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) has been named one of 15 honorary co-chairs of the inaugural committee.

Of course, honorary co-chairs are just that - honorary. They don’t do anything. Their names are just on the stationary.

In other Warren news, Katha Pollitt points out that Warren has also disrespected Jewish people -they will burn in hell, he has said - and that Muslim leaders should basically be killed for being “evil.”

Do you think that once Warren’s anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim views become more widespread, Obama will stop defending him?

Project Postcard

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Project+Postcard

Visibility is the key! Spread the word!
Ask everyone you know to write a postcard from their hometown to Obama!

Our friends at LGBTQ Civil Rights Front have come up with a brilliant way for us to ensure that LGBTQ issues aren't forgotten as President-elect Obama makes his transition into the White House.

Their idea: buy a postcard from your home town, include a handwritten message, and mail it to Obama's Presidential Transition Office.

UPDATE: Looks like we're having an impact. Obama's transition office has stopped accepting postcards. They will take #10 (business-sized) envelopes only. So, we have to make a few changes. See below.



HOW IT WORKS
1. BUY A POSTCARD It would be great if it had the name of your city or state on it, but feel free to get creative.
2. WRITE A MESSAGE: Dear President-elect Obama,

Please ask Congress to repeal DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell!


or


Please reconsider your decision to have Rick Warren perform the inaugural invocation.

Sincerely,



3. POST A PIC OF YOURSELF Take a photo of yourself with your postcard and add it to THIS ALBUM!
4. MAIL IT TO OBAMA: Put your postcard in a #10 envelope and mail it to...

President-elect Barack Obama
Presidential Transition Office
Kluczynski Federal Building
230 S. Dearborn St., 38th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604
5. TELL YOUR FRIENDS Email this URL to your friends! http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Project+Postcard

Nationwide DOMA Protest January 10th

From: http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Nationwide+DOMA+Protest

Nationwide DOMA Protest
The fight for equal rights never rests!
We joined together for the November 15th National Day of Protest that shook our nation!
You have joined us for a night of action that shed light on our struggle as we came together to Light Up the Night for Equal Rights.

Now, on Saturday January 10th, 2009 we ask you to join us in making the LARGEST IMPACT YET!
Let's take our message all the way up the ladder to President Elect Barack Obama himself!

On January 10th, we will come together as one UNITED FRONT
asking the LGBTQ community to join us in signing an Open Letter to President Barack Obama,
during a NATIONAL DOMA PROTEST.

This letter will remind President Elect Barack Obama of the promises he made to us. It will also serve as a pledge from our community that we will hold him to his promises and help him achieve them.


We can’t just put a letter online and ask that people sign it.
We need to take to the streets. As we all know…
VISIBILITY IS THE KEY TO EQUALITY!
Outreach & Education Will End Discrimination.
We MUST Infiltrate, to Educate, and Stop Hate!


This is why we CONTINUE to come together as a community and
speak out about the injustices that exist nationally AND locally.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Find out who is organizing a DOMA Protest in your area. If there isn't one, then volunteer to organize, or at least get signatures!

Grab the Open Letter (Check back here for the letter coming soon) and take to the streets to gain signatures.
Get one million signatures (in total) by the end of the day! Once we have a minimum of one million signatures, we will make certain that President Elect Barack Obama receives our letter on DAY 1 of his presidency!

Join Us on January 10th for 1 Million Signatures to Repeal DOMA!


About DOMA:
On September 21st, 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed into federal law. DOMA, wrote discrimination into the Constitution with two strict regulations:
No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) need treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
The Federal Government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.
To drive the point even further, 37 states slowly but surely adopted DOMA as a state-wide regulation further amending state Constitutions. This appalling law tells the American people that it is OK to discriminate. That it is OK to recognize the LGBTQ community as less than equal. This same law, that the California Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional set the precedence for Proposition 8. This same law has nullified many rights that come with Domestic Partnerships. This law has nullified the heterosexual rights that come with Common Law Marriage. This law blurred the lines of separation of church and state even further. And this law, is one of many that President Elect Barack Obama has PROMISED to repeal in his "Open Letter to the LGBTQ Community."

USA Refuses to Sign UN Gay Rights Declaration

The United States refused to sign the United Nations Gay Rights Declaration presented in December 2008.

Here's what you can do to change this:

ENGAGE
Have conversations with your neighbors, friends and family about LGBT rights.

QUESTION
Ask President-elect Barack Obama to support HRC's Blueprint for Positive Change.

UNITE
Powerful change results when more than 10,000,000 LGBT people come together.

ACT
Go to the National DOMA Protests on January 10 and stand among over a million people who want change.

LABOR
We will not rest until all LGBT people are given full and equal civil rights.

For more information, go to Join the Impact at
http://www.jointheimpact.com

Please also join the Facebook Group
"Make the USA Sign the UN Declaration of Gay Rights" here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=40563373601&ref=ts

This video can also be found on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCxvEXrc1g0

Protests Against Rev. Rick Warren @ Saddleback Church this Sunday: 12/21, "Debate, Don't Hate!"

This just in--short notice!

PROTEST @ SADDLEBACK CHURCH TOMORROW
to protest President-elect Obama’s choice of Rev. Rick Warren for Inauguration Invocation.

Sunday, December 21, 2008 9:00am - 9:00pm
1 Saddleback Pkwy, Lake Forest, CA
(Cross streets: El Toro Rd. & Portola Pkwy, 92630)

GAYS UNITED NETWORK
http://www.facebook.com/n.php/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mYWNlYm9vay5jb20vbi8_1ZXZlbnQucGhwJmVpZD00NDQ0NjUyMTMwNg

OUR MESSAGE:

This will be a peaceful protest where we send a unified message to Rick Warren and President-Elect Obama.

In that vein, please bring signs that say something like "Debate, Don't Hate!" or "Your choice in Rick Warren rises to the level of moral turpitude" and variations thereof.

WARNING: This is a private property and we'll need to be by the gates. There are two entrances to the church. However, I will be at the Saddleback Pkwy Entrance. We're trying to get the Media there so we ask that this be a peaceful show of solidarity and strength.

SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!!

This is a field trip to visit our estranged friend Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. I believe we have to RISE UP and show Obama and the world that we will not sit IDLY by and be SILENT and WE CANNOT and WILL NOT BE IGNORED!

Obama said in an interview that America is a democratic country that is diverse and noisy, etc. Let’s show him how LOUD and NOISY our collective voices can be when provoked.

We're planning to be there all day from 9am to 9pm as the not-so-good-reverend works overtime and has 5 services each and every Sunday.

SERVICE/PROTEST SCHEDULES:

9:00am
11:15am
4:30pm
6:30pm
8:30pm

HOW DOES IT WORK?

This will be a peaceful demonstration in the spirit of the holidays.
Dress alike. Wear the same t-shirts or signs pinned to your coats. You can make or buy a "2nd Class Citizen" t-shirt, but the message is optional. Learn more about why we suggest "2nd Class Citizen."

WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?

Hosting peaceful candlelight vigils
We will stay silent unless asked a question, we will not yell, instigate, or bear signs. Instead, we will let our shirts do the talking and our candles pay our respects. Bring candles (battery powered if you'll be huddling inside).
Singing and/or silence encouraged...chanting is not....keep it peaceful and in the holiday spirit.