From sadness to inspiration: "Gavin Newsom, for Courage Campaign" On Apr 04.29.09

Dear Aurora,

For many Californians, November's celebration of the election of Barack Obama as our next president was tempered by sadness and anger at the passage of Proposition 8.

That night, we became the first state in the nation to use our constitution to strip rights away from our fellow citizens. Our lesbian and gay friends, family members and neighbors woke up the morning after the election with fewer rights than they had enjoyed the night before.

Now it's time to empower and inspire Californians to win these rights back.

That's exactly what my friends at the Courage Campaign are doing. Since that historic setback six months ago, the Courage Campaign has worked with groups and activists across the progressive political spectrum to help build a people-powered movement to restore marriage equality to California.

The heart of the Courage Campaign's commitment to equality is Camp Courage -- a transformative two-day training event for marriage equality activists of all kinds, experienced or new to the movement. Modeled after "Camp Obama," Camp Courage has received amazing reviews from participants -- most rating it a 9 (on a scale of 1 to 10) -- following recent trainings in Los Angeles, Fresno and San Diego.

This weekend, Camp Courage is coming to the Bay Area for the first time. If you want to be at this inspiring event in Oakland, time is running out. Register now before it's too late. DEADLINE: Friday, May 1, at 9 a.m.:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/BayArea

I haven't seen this much energy in the marriage equality movement since the "Winter of Love" in 2004, when Del Martin, Phyllis Lyon and more than 4,000 other couples said "I Do" following our announcement that the City of San Francisco would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

As former State Senator Sheila Kuehl wrote to you last week, this country took a significant step toward securing equality for every American five years ago in San Francisco. While some feel that what we did was too much, too fast, too soon, we stand firm in the belief that our actions were not only just, but legal and constitutional.

Now we need to take a stand and secure these fundamental rights for all Californians. For good.

That's why I think these Camp Courage training events are so important. And it's why CREDO Mobile, the Human Rights Campaign and the Dolby Family are getting behind Camp Courage as well, providing crucial funding to bring Camp Courage to communities across California.

This weekend, "Camp Courage Bay Area" will be ground zero in the marriage equality movement. You don't want to miss it. Please register now before time runs out. DEADLINE: Friday, May 1, at 9 a.m.:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/BayArea

Thanks for helping the Courage Campaign bring progressive change to California and our country.

Gavin Newsom
Mayor of San Francisco

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The Courage Campaign is an online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change in California.

To power our campaign to repeal Prop 8, please chip in what you can today: