From: NGLTF@aol.com Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995 16:12:10 -0400 Subject: NGLTF Releases Marriage Organizing Manual ************************************************* National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NEWS RELEASE Contact: Beth Barrett (202) 332-6483 ext. 3215 bbarrett@ngltf.org 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 ************************************************* NGLTF RELEASES MARRIAGE ORGANIZING MANUAL Group to Assist Activists Working to Win and Keep the Right To Marry Washington, DC-- October 2, 1995 -- The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) is pleased to announce its latest publication, To Have and To Hold: Organizing for Our Right To Marry. Working in conjunction with the National Freedom To Marry Coalition, a working group of local, state and national organizations, NGLTF has created an organizing tool geared to teach activists how to win and keep our freedom to marry to supplement NGLTF's educational and organizing work. To Have and To Hold is a comprehensive, easy to use, activist-friendly work kit for educating and organizing your community. The guide contains: x The latest background information on marriage cases x How to start a marriage group in your community x Handy tips, convenient checklists and soundbites x How to fight Radical Right attacks and hostile legislation x Questions & Answers x Action Items x Press strategies, including talking points and a sample "letter to the editor" x The Marriage Resolution x Valuable organizing resources, including a guide to marriage on the Internet and more x Almost everything you'll need to organize for our freedom to marry! "Marriage is coming at us like a 3,000 ton locomotive," said Robert Bray, NGLTF Field Organizer and author of the manual "We must educate ourselves, foster a discussion in our own community, organize and drive the issue from the grassroots up. To Have and To Hold is a tool which will prove invaluable to this organizing effort." In addition to NGLTF's public education and organizing supporting the right to marry, NGLTF has committed to assisting activists through participation in the National Freedom to Marry Coalition. NGLTF endorsed the Coalition's Marriage Resolution, supporting the rights of same-gender couples who would choose to legally marry and has contributed to the Coalition's media and state organizing efforts. NGLTF grassroots contacts will serve as the base of organizing support as the Coalition broadens its work into the state and local levels. Added Tracey Conaty, NGLTF Field Organizer and Freedom to Marry Coalition representative, "NGLTF is playing an active role in the national leadership for our freedom to marry. This unprecedented coalition will supplement NGLTF's educational and organizing focus on marriage and the family." To Have and To Hold is the signature piece of NGLTF's work for our right to marry which also includes grassroots education, technical assistance and activist trainings. Upcoming trainings of interest to marriage activists include workshops at the eighth annual Creating Change Conference, Nov. 8-12 in Detroit, MI and the National Coming Out Week South Dakota Tour, Oct. 7-15. NOTE: NGLTF anticipates release of the kit on October 15. Each guide is $10 including shipping and handling. Please call (202) 332-6483, ext. 3215 for information on the manual or for bulk discounts for 5 or more guides. To ensure that you receive the first copies, please follow the steps on the order form below. For more information on the Creating Change Conference call (202)332-6483, ext. 3329. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------- Please complete the following form YES please send me _____ copies of To Have and To Hold Each guide is $10 including shipping and handling. By Mail I am enclosing a check for $_____ Please make checks payable to: NGLTF Policy Institute 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 By Mail, E-mail, or Phone Please bill me $_____ via credit card __ Visa __MC __DSCVR __AMEX Credit Card Number ___________________________ Exp. Date _______________ Signature ____________________________(if mailed) Mail to the above address, send e-mail to ngltf@ngltf.org or, call (202) 332-6483, ext. 3327. ___ (check) YES, please send me information on the National Freedom to Marry Coalition. Send my marriage guide to: Contact _____________________________ Organization (if applicable) _______________________ Mail Address _____________________________________ City/State/Zip _____________________________________ Res. Phone _______________________________ Bus. Phone _______________________________ E-mail Address ____________________________