Lez Keep It Real

No, I’m not talking about bird flu.

I’m talking about same-sex marriage. Massachusetts may be the only state to allow full on marriage at this point, but the idea is beginning to spread.

And part of the reason is because of events such as these:

RainbowWeddingNetwork.com is returning to Atlanta for its 4th annual GLBTQ Wedding & Family Expo. The event will be on February 24, 2008 from 12:00 - 5:00 pm at Bold American Catering’s venue space in the King Plow Center. It will include dozens of local wedding vendors who actively support equal rights in marriage, as well as Music, Ceremony Tips, Samples, Fashion and live Dance performances. Admission is free, and all supporters of marriage equality are encouraged to attend.

Cindy Sproul, co-owner of RainbowWeddingNetwork.com, has worked in the GLBTQ community for over twelve years.

“All citizens need to come together,” Sproul states, “Advocates and allies both gay and straight, from all walks, classes and backgrounds… The potential of this Expo is to serve as an exciting means for a refreshed vision of true equality for the state of Georgia and beyond. Especially in 2008, as this election year is such a vital time for everyone to get involved.”

New to this fourth annual event is RainbowWeddingNetwork’s new initiative, the Same Love, Same Rights Mobile Marriage Summit. Meant as an open forum for the public, one of the Summit’s main goals is to identify activities that individuals can take part in to create mass change in favor of equal rights in marriage.

Those attending the rally will have the opportunity to share their ideas on the issues, sign petitions and learn new ways to get involved, both at the state and national levels. Sproul & her partner Marianne Puechl will be speaking during the event, along with Marriage Equality Georgia’s Kathy Kelly. Other Mobile Marriage Summit rallies are scheduled for 2008 in Seattle, Tampa and New York City.

“In recent years, the gay community in America has become less cohesive,” says Marianne Puechl. “And we truly have seen a need to add a political edge to the party atmosphere of our Wedding Expos. The Mobile Marriage Summit is an exciting addition: it will create a buzz at a grassroots, activist-level, and every attendee at the event will have an opportunity to get involved right then, right there. The sister website is an excellent complement to the work we’re trying to achieve: www.SameLoveSameRights.com provides all the tools that citizens, nonprofit agencies, and businesses need in order to work marriage equality into the fabric of America.”

Married and engaged guests will have the chance to add a photograph to the Commitment Photo Album, an ongoing project to document GLBTQ couples and their families throughout the nation. The rally will have a photographer available at the event, and printed submissions will also be welcome.

Launched in 2000, RainbowWeddingNetwork.com (RWN) has grown to become the most extensive wedding resource for the gay and lesbian community in the United States. RWN produced its first GLBTQ Wedding Expo in 2003 and released the national Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine in 2006. To date, RWN has produced sixteen different events in ten states.

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