American Civil Liberties Union

Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, California, has agreed to make policy changes and conduct staff trainings to ensure that the rights of its LGBT patients and family members are properly respected. The changes are being made in response to a demand letter by American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights on behalf of a lesbian who was barred from visiting her partner and giving advice about her treatment at the hospital.

On November 3, Washington voters will have the chance to approve or reject R-71, a measure that will allow same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex seniors to access many of the rights and protections granted to married couples.  We’ll be counting down to Election Day with a series of seven videos, each a powerful illustration of why it’s so important to approve R-71.

Reason #2: Seattle Firefighter Jen, her partner Heidi, and their children

Jen and Heidi live in North Seattle with their two kids, Max and Maggie. Heidi teaches high school English and Jen is a firefighter in the Seattle Fire Department. Vote to Approve Referendum 71 to ensure that if something happens to Jen at work, Heidi and their kids will have access to Jen’s firefighter’s pension and death benefits.

There are just five days left until voters in California will vote on Proposition 8, which would strip lesbian and gay couples of the fundamental right to marry. Although a Field Poll released today shows that we have a decent shot at defeating the initiative, there are still a large number of undecided voters. If we all speak up, we can turn those undecidededs into no votes.

The easiest way to encourage friends and family to vote no on Proposition 8 is to click here to send them a prewritten e-mail that you can personalize.  While this may seem obvious, remember to tell people to vote NO. We’ve heard reports that some people have found the language confusing and accidentally entered a yes vote when they intended to vote no.