Liberty Hill Blog

Responses to Yesterday's 2010 vs 2012 Statement

A number of organizations are weighing in on the Prepare To Prevail statement we posted yesterday advocating that 2012 be the date marriage equality supporters unite behind for the next same-sex marriage initiative.

Here's Courage Campaign's response, followed by Love Honor Cherish's response.

Courage Campaign Statement on "Prepare to Prevail" Letter 

LOS ANGELES - Courage Campaign chair and founder Rick Jacobs issued the following statement today regarding an open letter released by API Equality, HONOR PAC and the Jordan Rustin Coalition on Monday, July 13:

"We welcome the 'Prepare to Prevail' letter from API Equality, HONOR PAC, the Jordan Rustin Coalition and so many others as an honest, open contribution to the deliberations through which the community is participating.

"The 'Prepare to Prevail' letter, along with Love Honor Cherish's compelling statement on moving forward in 2010, is part of a healthy, vigorous debate that should help to inform the community as we begin the process of choosing the best path to victory.

"We encourage everyone engaged in this movement to put forward their portions of the road map to victory so that together, we can all win.

"Back in May, we asked our members to vote on which year -- 2010 or 2012 -- the Courage Campaign should support going back to the ballot to restore marriage equality. The response was overwhelming -- 82.5% expressed support for a 2010 ballot measure.

"The Courage Campaign is doing its part by helping to build an electoral road map to victory, as are several other organizations that are laying the groundwork necessary to win back marriage equality. It is our responsibility to our members, who overwhelmingly told us that they want to go to the ballot in 2010, and it is our responsibility to the marriage equality community."

"That's why the Courage Campaign announced support for a 2010 initiative in May.

2010 or 2012? A Major New Coalition Says: Wait To Win

A coalition including many Liberty Hill partners issued the following statement today urging marriage equality advocates to wait until 2012 to put a new initiative supporting same-sex marriage on the ballot.

Since passage of Prop 8, Liberty Hill has intensified its commitment to this issue and building the bridges between people and communities needed to advance full equality for all Californians.

The full statement is below:

Unlike Proposition 8 in 2008, any upcoming electoral campaign for marriage equality would be one of choice, not one of necessity in fending off an attack from religious-right foes. Timing is ours to determine. Going back to the ballot to remove the voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage from the state constitution in 2010 would be rushed and risky. We should proceed with a costly, demanding, and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win. We should choose to Prepare to Prevail.

What Happens to the Little Girl When She Grows Up? Struggles of Undocumented Students

There are over 25,000 undocumented students in California and many are denied access to higher education upon completing high school. Amanda Wah, Liberty Hill intern and current student at Loyola Marymount University, guest blogs on our brown bag lunch discussion Underground Undergrads: Immigrant Students and Their Struggle to Create Political Change. Liberty Hill was one of the first organizations in the nation to provide scholarships to undocumented students in higher education. 

Today, three AB 540 students brought the room to tears sharing their stories about growing up in America only to discover they were undocumented and the doors that have closed because of it.

One of the students, Fabiola, was a straight A student in high school, took AP classes and did everything that students are supposed to do if they want to go to college. Going into her senior year, she thought that all of these were opportunities open, but once she realized she was considered undocumented, the opportunities quickly disappeared.  Well qualified to attend a college in Texas, Fabiola remembers calling a college admissions officer hoping to get more information.  The admissions officer responded, “This is a legal institution and you’re not. So please don’t call us again.”

Marriage Equality Has Strength in the Asian Community

We've been telling this story for over a year: Smart organizing by API Equality (and supported by Liberty Hill) secured majority support for marriage equality in the Asian community before last November's election. Read Reuters account. Read our story.

Green L.A. Agenda Advances With Mayoral Support

Green L.A., the kickbutt coalition incubated at Liberty Hill for the last two years, met with the mayor and Deputy Mayor David Freeman again last week to push for more citywide green policies.

A couple of policy advances were on the table. For years, Liberty Hill has been a frontlines player in organizing environmental justice forces throughout L.A. Those EJ forces asked the mayor to create three pilot "EJ Zones" in Wilmington, East L.A. and Pacoima, three of L.A.'s mostly densely polluted neighborhoods. A Mayoral Directive would prevent further pollution and begin to revitalize these communities. The Mayor's said he's on board.

Green L.A. also asked the Mayor for his support of a Complete Street Policy so that L.A. streets were designed to accomodate bikes, buses and pedestrians as well as cars. (Anybody ever been stuck trying to cross the street at Olympic, Fairfax and San Vicente? The lights are timed so you get half way across San Vicente and then you're stuck for 5 minutes in the middle of the street as cars whiz by you from both directions. Something in the neighborhood of 100 pedestrians are killed each year in L.A. I'm for ped-friendly streets.)

Green L.A. also secured support for a strong, low-impact development ordinance to help capture water and improve water quality to complement the City's Green Bulding program and an expansion of the City's Green Retrofit Program.