Marriage Equality from Coast to Coast

The past year will go down in the history books as a year when fairness and justice prevailed for gays and lesbians across the country. It was a year when a movement of hundreds of thousands of people across the country—parents, brothers, sisters, friends and lovers—finally achieved their goal: marriage equality from coast to coast.

The marriage win was the product of so many different forces, bold leaders, litigators, elected officials and most importantly, hundreds of thousands of individuals, couples and families at the grassroots level. Also playing an important part was a unique partnership of movement organizations and funders who came together to carry out a long-term, state-by-state strategy to help move marriage equality across the finish line.

A new case study and video share the story of this partnership, the Civil Marriage Collaborative. Learn how its members developed a strategy for winning, how they persevered in their support despite huge setbacks, and how they invested in opinion research, litigation and other activities that contributed to this historic victory.

It is a powerful story of how change can happen in our society today. And it is a fitting reminder of what it takes to achieve real and lasting progress in advancing rights and creating opportunities for all people.

In this time of year-end reflection, I hope you will take a moment to look at the video, Hearts and Minds, and draw hope and inspiration from the vision, tenacity, and collaborative discipline that contributed to this historic win.

Here’s to making more history in the years to come.