EXTRA * CELEBRATE DOMA PROGRESS TODAY!

[Join The Impact Chicago]

In case you missed it on Facebook today, we are going to celebrate
Obama's decision today that his Department of Justice will no longer
defend DOMA as constitutional. The rally will be at 5:30 TONIGHT in
Daley Plaza. We know it's very short notice, but we felt there needed
to be an immediate response.

For more information, here's our press release. Hope to see you there,
if you can make it!

---

Chicago Activists Celebrate Obama’s DOJ Ceasing to Defend DOMA

Chicago, IL- A coalition of activists in Chicago are rallying tonight
at Daley Plaza in Chicago at 5:30 PM to celebrate today’s announcement
that Obama and the Department of Justice will no longer defend the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. The rally is cosponsored by
Join The Impact Chicago, LGBT Change, the Queer Intercollegiate
Alliance and Video Action League.

Coming a little over a week after nationwide protests at marriage
bureaus on Valentine’s Day organized by GetEqual and Marriage Equality
USA, including the arrests of six activists from Chicago who staged a
sit-in at the Daley Plaza vital records office, the news was extremely
encouraging to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ)
rights activists.

“Simply put, this is huge,” said Join The Impact Chicago organizer
Andrea Crain. “Obama and his Department of Justice are finally
standing up for what we all know, that the constitution requires equal
treatment under the law for LGBTQ people and our relationships. At
last, we have the fierce advocate we’ve been promised all along.”

Though the president’s decision does not immediately repeal the
Defense of Marriage Act, or even halt its enforcement, immediate steps
taken to repeal the law via both the judicial and legislative branches
quickly followed his announcement. Dianne Feinstein announced this
afternoon that she will introduce a bill to repeal the Defense of
Marriage Act. The American Federation for Equal Rights, the group
challenging the Proposition 8 case in California, filed in court to
lift the stay on enforcement of Judge Walker’s federal court decision
declaring Prop 8 unconstitutional. Four cases currently pending that
directly challenge the Defense of Marriage Act, brought by same-sex
married couples and surviving spouses in Massachusetts, Connecticut
and New York, are now much more likely to succeed, although Congress
or outside groups may attempt to intervene and defend the law.

"While this is a major step forward, the struggle for equality
continues, and we look forward to the full repeal of this outdated and
unfair law. We call on the LGBTQ Community to join us in insisting
that Congress enact legislation repealing DOMA and hold our elected
officials accountable if they don’t," said Matthew Zaradich and
Anthony Martinez, co-executive directors of LGBT Change.

Illinois has recently passed a civil unions law, which takes effect in
June, but civil unions are not the same as legal marriage. Once DOMA
is repealed, that will most likely have no effect on the federal
recognition of Illinois couples’ legal relationships as recognized by
civil unions. Legal marriage equality is still needed in Illinois and
in every other state. Visit Join The Impact Chicago’s website at
www.jointheimpactchicago.com for more information on the rights
Illinois’s civil unions law cannot grant.

Join the Impact Chicago is a politically independent organization of
Chicago-based grassroots activists fighting for full equality for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in all
matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Through education,
community organizing, and direct action, JTIC is working to eliminate
federal, state, and local laws that codify discrimination on the basis
of gender expression and sexuality. We will not settle for compromises
or half-measures, and will not rest until we are recognized as fully
equal. For more information please visit our website at
http://www.jointheimpactchicago.com or find us on Facebook at
http://tinyurl.com/JTIChicago.

LGBT Change is a grassroots organization that seeks to create positive
change for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community by
uniting and empowering anyone who supports equality and challenging
those who oppose it. LGBT Change began in 2008 after the election of
Barack Obama and the passage of Proposition 8 in California. The
original vision was to use LGBT Change as a vehicle to pressure our
leaders, including the new President, and to create a viable volunteer
network. For more information, visit: http://www.lgbtchange.org/ or
email in...@lgbtchange.org

The Queer Intercollegiate Alliance is an LGBTQA initiative between
Chicago area colleges which stresses intercollegiate cooperation among
Chicago's campuses and is just the first step in a partnership among
Chicago's collegiate LGBTQA groups. QIA’s Facebook page can be found
at http://www.facebook.com/qiachicago

Formed in November of 2010, Video Action League’s goal is to create a
fresh approach to the queer rights movement. VAL’s mission is to
settle for nothing less than full worldwide equality regardless of
sexual orientation or gender identity and expression and aims to
transform, inspire, and educate through the use of new media. For more
information please visit: http://www.videoactionleague.com. You can
find Video Action League on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/videoactionleague
on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoActionLeague and on
Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/vidactionleague.