I am here to recruit you

Dear Terrence, When I heard the news that Sen. Dianne Feinstein would introduce repeal of the "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA), I was thrilled. Clearly this is a game-changer. And I remembered almost 40 years ago when Dianne Feinstein was still a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and hosted a commitment ceremony for our mutual friend Jo Daly, a lesbian activist. A great deal has happened in the 40 years since I joined this movement. Today we are on the cusp of winning full equality. But full equality by definition can only come from the federal government. For decades we have fought city-by-city, state-by-state for fractions of equality, and even when we won, every victory is incomplete and impermanent. Incomplete because they do not include the federal rights that are granted to straight Americans and impermanent because we see how easily these victories are overturned at the ballot box. Now is the time to end this debate. Now is the time to win. We will win through concerted, coordinated political action in all 435 Congressional districts. We must show all 435 members of Congress that people who live, work, pay taxes and vote in their districts believe in equality for all Americans. And to do that, we must have volunteers in 435 districts who can help build pressure on elected representatives in their state. Will you volunteer just 8 hours a month to become a Courage State Coordinator, working with us to repeal DOMA? or, if you cannot volunteer: Will you chip in to fund our efforts to build a 50-state network to repeal DOMA? Look, I've been in this movement a long time and I'm nearly 60 (if can you believe it). I'm not saying it's made me wise, but it's given me a lot of memories. And I've never seen anything like the sea change we've seen in the last two years. Now is the time to finish the job. When Sen. Feinstein said she was determined to repeal DOMA, we knew she meant business and we're going to be full partners in making it happen. Please join us -- whether throughvolunteering or through donating to our work. In solidarity, Cleve Jones

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