Actress Lea DeLaria to Host the American Civil Liberties Union"My Big Gay (Il)legal Wedding" Reception in New York City

ACLU Event Marks End of “My Big Gay (Il)legal Wedding Campaign” that Aims to Raise Awareness of the Freedom to Marry for Same-Sex Couples

April 21, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

New York – Today the American Civil Liberties union announced that actress and comedian Lea DeLaria will host the “My Big Gay (Il)legal Wedding” reception to celebrate the contest’s five winning couples at 54 Below in New York City on May 19, 2014.

“I’m honored to host this wedding reception and celebrate the love between the five same-sex couples who won the ‘Big Gay (Il)legal Wedding’ contest” said DeLaria “but we also want to highlight the inequality they face just because these Americans live in a state that does not yet recognize same-sex marriage.”

Attendees of the wedding reception will include allies and proponents of the ACLU’s Out for Freedom campaign as well as the winners of the “Wedding Crashers Sweepstakes.” Supporters can visit weddings.aclu.org to sign the wedding guestbook and enter for the chance to win one of five VIP trips to NYC to “crash” the marquee “My Big Gay (Il)legal Wedding” reception. The guestbooks, calling for the freedom to marry, will be delivered to lawmakers in the couples’ home states.

Event host Lea DeLaria is an American comedian, actress, and jazz musician. DeLaria is well known for her role in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black as Carrie “Big Boo” Black and was also the first openly gay comic to appear on television with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.

The “My Big Gay (Il)legal Wedding Crashers Sweepstakes” is sponsored by the ACLU. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, D.C. & Puerto Rico who are of legal age of majority in their state of residence. Starts 12:01 a.m. ET 3/28/14, ends 11:59 p.m. 5/07/14. Void where prohibited. Subject to Official Rules, available at weddings.aclu.org.

About the ACLU
For more than 90 years, the ACLU has been our nation’s guardian of liberty, working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The ACLU brought its first gay rights case in 1936 and has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights ever since, including representing Edie Windsor in her successful fight to get rid of the Defense of Marriage Act.
aclu.org/lgbt

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