gay marriage

If you haven't heard of it by now... where have you been?! The Harry Potter Alliance got started in 2005 on MySpace and has grown into a larger and larger alliance tackling issue after issue bringing online involvement into offline actions.

Most recently their stance on California's Anti-Equality Amendment Proposition H8

The HP Forum includes anti-discrimination topics that speak of the inspiration for the advocacy.

"Dumbledore spoke against the Wizarding World’s discrimination of Half-bloods, Muggle borns, Muggles, Centaurs, Werewolves, Giants, and House Elves. How can we fight discrimination based on race, physical and mental ability, age, sexual orientation, economic status, ethnicity, and any thing else?"

With over 12,000 friends on MySpace and 50 chapters in 7 countries across the world, the HP Alliance works against real dark forces as members of Dumbledore's Army that advocates for justice.

Their specific causes include but are not limited to:

• Genocide, Poverty, AIDS, and Global Warming are ignored by our media and governments the way Voldemort's return is ignored by the Ministry and Daily Prophet.
• People are still discriminated against based on sexuality, race, class, religion, gender, ethnicity, and religion just as the Wizarding World continues to discriminate against Centaurs, Giants, House Elves, Half-Bloods, Muggle borns, Squibs, and Muggles
• Our governments continue to respond to terror by torturing prisoners (often without trial) just as Sirius Black was tortured by dementors with no trial
• A Muggle Mindset pervades over our culture-a mindset that values being "perfectly normal, thank you very much" over being interesting, original, loving, and creative

Since the release of the first Harry Potter book in 1997 the Alliance is targeting a demographic that is 100% millennial. A generation has come of age with the HP books in their lives advocating for good against evil. Tapping into this value and applying it to policy initiatives that matter to young people and showing how they can affect change within their communities is what I believe we all strive for in the youth movement. The HP Alliance does more than advocate against Prop H8 they are working within the culture to create lasting impacts on policies that we'll see as Millennials continue their takeover.

HPA did a lot this election including a huge Wizard Rock the Vote registration drive, but I have been wanting to write about them for a while as a special thanks for their continued advocacy against Prop H8. And I hope they'll stay involved in the new campaign to overturn Prop H8 begins.

I am a young amateur filmmaker from Canada who, after becoming increasingly frustrated with the political system and lack of action among his peers has made a short video aimed at George W Bush, John McCain and the conservative/religious right. The result is a hilarious but deadly serious message of anger and a call for mobilization.

Watch, laugh, think, maybe die a little inside, and then spread the message.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw88vPtMR40

Saturday evening reading:

• As we're moving closer and closer to Election Day -- one month from today! -- make sure to go over to the website for the November Fifth Coalition. Here is an excerpt from the front page of their site that explains their objectives:
  

  The November 5th Coalition is an all-partisan alliance committed to civic partnerships that address our biggest challenges. The Coalition is named for the day after the election in 2008 when a new chapter of America's civic history begins. Wherever the people gather they should be able to ask candidates “November 5th questions” about how they plan to tap the talents of the whole society, instead of posing as superheroes who will solve our problems for us. We will also develop leadership networks and civic policies that can serve as resources for a new administration. We encourage our fellow citizens to join with us in calling on candidates to rise above excessively divisive partisanship and to promote the common good.

• The Personal Democracy Forum has the top five reasons you won't be able to vote.
• Gizmodo takes you on a tour of the new Obama iPhone application. Very impressive! You can download it here.
• More scare tactics from the Republicans, this time aimed at Montana voters. Alternet has the details.
• Young Nevadans are overwhelmingly registering as Democrats:
  

  In the 18 to 24 age group, for example, Democrats have 54,192 registered voters compared with 31,405 Republicans, or 45 percent of the total registered voters for Democrats versus 26 percent for Republicans. That's a 19 percentage point difference.

• More youth attempting to be politically engaged. More youth being told not to. This time in Texas.
• Prop 8, the evangelical-led effort to amend California's constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, has gradually grown less and less popular; this Washington Post article explains that young voters are the main reason for the decline in popularity.

So I'm sure you heard. The good state of California is now performing same-sex marriages, after the state's Supreme Court struck down a state ban in May.

Well, I'm happy to report back to those around the world who might have been concerned about us here in California: So far as i can tell -- contrary to the dire predictions we may have heard -- the earth has not yet opened up and swallowed the whole state into a pit of eternal hellfire. Which is great, because honestly I'm not that into hellfire. Hellfire seems totally uncool.

In fact, as I look around, what strikes me the most is that the whole thing seems so.... so..... so normal.

Here's what appears to have been happening, and hold onto your hats while I say this.... It appears that couples who love each other -- people who have shared lives, families, and homes for years -- are now officially getting married.

Wild, I know.

I'm not sure exactly what I would have expected. Some sort of crazed marriage bonanza? A massive gay marriage stampede through the streets? Something else with the word bonanza in it?

Nope, not really. Pretty much it's just people who are happy to get the chance to say 'they do' to the one they love, and be recognized just like everyone else for it, with peace and dignity.

It makes me proud to be a Californian.

Maybe what gay marriage opponents have been missing for the last several years was a strong dose of who-the-hell-cares. You know what I mean? Relax, friends. Unclench. Look around. The world is still standing. More people who love each other are married. Sounds pretty good if you ask me.

Sure, it's possible that some coalition of concerned party poopers will stir up enough fear and ugliness to pass this constitutional amendment in November and shut down the festivities. (And certainly, we all need to step up and work against that. Definitely not into party poopers. Party poopers are way uncool.)

But I'll tell you what gives me a sense of peace about this issue.

It's inevitable. Like it or not, our country's attitudes are changing. It's unstoppable, and it's happening. And everyone, on all sides of the debate, knows it.

Just take a look at this. Right after the Supreme Court decision, a new Field Poll showed that for the first time since they started measuring back in the 70's, a majority of Californians now agree that "gay people have the right to marry" (51 to 42 percent.) And for voters under 30, the percent in support jumps to 68%. That's a blowout. Go us.

So yes, they might pass an amendment in california to outlaw same-sex marriage for a while. Sure, other states might go all reactionary and furrow their brows and bristle out their mustaches (yes, states can have mustaches, why not.) True, we could be in for a battery of reactionary laws and amendments and hyperventilating hand-wringing from the lock-your-doors brigade.

But progress will continue to steadily, inevitably, irreversibly march on. Those amendments will be overturned, laws will be fixed, and bristled mustaches will be soothed. And a few decades from now, we'll look back and wonder... what took us so damn long? And our kids will incredulously ask us how anyone thought such overt discrimination against our friends and neighbors was ever acceptable.

And one day, we will get to look back and tell our own stories about this time -- this time right now -- when we were truly proud to live in the state of California.

--------------------
Sam Dorman is the Managing Director of the League of Young Voters

There are several truly interesting things that happened this week that I think really show the effects and the power of Millennials have on this wild and crazy world. Some obscure in nature there are several little things that I’m just dying to comment on.

• MySpace has been sending out mass emails to its user list where it included info about the Spin and Helio Project dedicated to the reunion of the Smashing Pumpkins where MySpace has

  “gathered up 10 different artists to exclusively record tracks for a MySpace Tribute CD. Not only is this CD being premiered on MySpace exclusively, you can also get a free copy of the July issue of SPIN being released 6/26….” Extravaganza

  One of the things I first posted about in relation to Gen M was their purchase power and power of the purse - specifically in relation to the piece about the new perfume CK’s IN2U. Millennials are one of the strongest and most powerful consumer groups and marketing specifically to them is generally seen as a sure investment in success and cult like followings. But making that leap from a virtual world to the real world is a whole different thing and marketing a traditional CD and magazine via MySpace is curious to me. If the CD was downloadable via iTunes and the Mag was online (it is but I mean more features or something for free sign-ups) then I see it being more successful.

  But I’m curious about what FM readers think the drop off might be for Gen M’s online vs. IRL purchases for thinks like the SP CD. There seems, to me at least, to be a huge jump from these two worlds and web engagement doesn’t necessarily equate actual participation from behind the computer and I’m curious if anyone knows to what degree this is true for purchase power.

• Yesterday,Massachusetts lawmakers killed the anti-gay marriage bill in their state that was aimed at babysteps to reduce the old law making it legal for all people to get hitched.

  “The bill would have placed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage on the ballot for voter consideration in November of 2008. The defeat keeps intact the 2003 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that mandated the institution of gay marriages. Daniel reports

  Notably the bill sunk by a vote of 45 to 151 which is rather nicely done in my neck of the woods that’d be flipped.

  “The vote came after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning and concluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal.” the article said

  Deval Patrick had enormous support from young people (clearly all people) in the last election. His website is considerably well organized into issue based participation which I’m sure only increases the Gen M folks who participate - but Daniel says it best:

  “the longer residents of Massachusetts live with gay marriage…and realize that it has no real impact on their relationships and their families…the more difficult it will be to overturn. Adding to that rationale is evidence that young voters are overwhelmingly in favor of gay marriage…a factor that will increasingly impact the debate as it will behoove politicians to be mindful of public sentiment.”

• A new documentary is slated for release that introduces

  “a new generation of voters who don’t remember the old Clinton wars”

  by the tireless attempts by conservatives who have nothing better to do.

  “He points out that someone who is 18 today was “4 years old when the travel-office scandal broke.” These young voters, he predicts, will be hungry for Hillary dirt, new and old. “There’s an enormous market for Hillary Clinton information,” he tells NEWSWEEK.” MSNBC

  Clinton Derangement Syndrome (as mentioned by Mr. Strannix) I don’t see as being something young people are really going to connect with. Why? Well instinct for one. Actual thought is that Gen M seems to be remarkably hip to most things that are BS. I’d be interested to see the response by unaffiliated Gen M voters on this documentary.
• And finally - the CAP is having a shindig this weekend for young Latinos in the progressive communitiy. There will be food - just fyi - but the interest I have is in the continuing efforts being made to look at GOTV and engagement tactics for the Latino community.

  My boss reminded me this week and as we’ve mentioned here before the Hispanic/Latino population in America is a young group of people. Average age is like 24. And

  “Every year since the 2000 elections an average of 425,000 native-born Latinos has turned 18 years old and become eligible to vote. While Latinos make up 8% of eligible voters, they represent 12% of the electorate that is between 18 and 24 years old.”

  I think with more states passing EDR (because who really wants to stop someone’s right to vote anyway?) and smarter better mobilization among progressive GOTV and registration groups in target states we actually stand a chance of seriously increasing GOTV for this specific group of young people.

Hope ya’ll have a fantastic Friday!