The Time for This Action is Now

Discrimination exists. In 34 states, lesbians and gays have no recourse if they are fired or denied promotions on the basis of sexual orientation. Twenty-nine states have no laws to address hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and 40 states do not protect their citizens against hate crimes based on gender identity. Federal statutes prohibit LGBT Americans from serving openly in the military. Same-sex couples are denied the right to-marry in all but one state and more than half of the states have embedded marriage discrimination in their state constitutions. These and other forms of discriminatory public policy endorse and sustain a culture of intolerance that devalues LGBT Americans and their children and subjects them to prejudice that ranges from bullying to hate crimes.

Education opens minds. Most Americans share the deeply held belief that all people are created equal, and thus, all people should be treated equally. Many Americans do not realize that millions of partners, parents and children in this country are in fact not being treated equally. How discrimination harms LGBT partners, parents and their children is simply not on people's radar. The action will educate people by confronting homophobia and changing minds and attitudes with accurate information.

The momentum is with us. While the far right continues to use marriage discrimination to further deny LGBT Americans their rights, recent events show the tide is turning. In the November elections, Arizona became the first state to defeat a proposed marriage discrimination amendment. The margins in the seven states that did pass their amendments were considerably smaller than those seen in November 2004. The shift in power in Congress has given equal rights advocates hope of achieving several legislative goals, including making violence against gays a hate crime, repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and outlawing workplace discrimination.

Seven Straight Nights will mobilize the growing number of fair-minded people who are against discrimination and give them a place to stand up for equal rights, outside the voting booth.

Short-term Goals for Seven Straight Nights

  • Empower hundreds of straight activists to take a public stand for LGBT equality for the first time.
  • Educate thousands of fair-minded people (the "educatable middle") across America about the inequality that exists for LGBT Americans and give them concrete action items in four key areas: marriage equality, adoption and foster-parenting; bullying and hate crimes; and employment discrimination.
  • Demonstrate that many people of faith vehemently disagree with how the radical right has tried to further its political agenda by citing the Bible as a source for its homophobic hatred.
  • Highlight people of faith who practice the values of love, compassion and justice.

Long-term Goals for Seven Straight Nights

  • Begin mobilizing the power in numbers needed to achieve equal rights for all partners, parents and children, regardless of sexual orientation. Seven Straight Nights will lead to many other grassroots efforts, long after the action is complete.
  • Directly benefit millions of Americans who are LGBT partners and/or parents, and the more than 3 million children being raised in their homes.
  • Increase the number of local, state, and national politicians taking a stand for LGBT equality.
  • Expose the bigotry of those politicians and religious leaders who support discrimination against LGBT Americans.