The California attorney general has now issued petition language (title and summary) for three proposed constitutional amendments that would each repeal existing protections and responsibilities for unmarried couples and legally-recognized domestic partners, and permanently ban marriage protections for same-sex couples. With the approved title and summary, the amendments can now be printed on petitions for proponents of discrimination to begin gathering signatures in order to get on our June 2006 ballots.

These proposed amendments are costly and discriminatory efforts on the part of political and religious extremists, and are clearly intended to hurt California families. At The San Diego LGBT Community Center, we want all people to understand the costs of both marriage discrimination and these repeated attempts to roll back the few rights and responsibilities we do have.

And it is not just the allied community that needs this information. Even within our own community, many people do not yet completely understand the negative consequences of this kind of discrimination.

And therein lies our next challenge. If we are going to help end this type of discrimination, we need to make sure all Californians, including LGBT San Diegans, understand the real impact of marriage discrimination.

The Center’s Marriage Equality and Education Project was created to help educate the general public in San Diego about the damage done to LGBT people by marriage discrimination. The project also seeks to help promote marriage equality through education. Marriage equality is fundamentally about the rights of all people to love deeply, passionately and to have their most committed, soulful partnerships given the dignity and value that they deserve.

As the new coordinator for The Center’s Marriage Equality and Education Project, I am excited to work on the front lines of this critically-important issue. There are many in our LGBT and allied communities who believe that the struggle for marriage equality is one of the most important civil rights issues of our lifetime. I agree, and I am looking forward to working even harder to engage as many people as possible in securing equal partnership and marriage rights for our community.

As an openly gay Latino male, I understand the impacts of discrimination – whether it’s heterosexism, sexism or racism, there are too many in our community who have been denied equal opportunities simply because of who they are.

While The Center has a solid commitment to educate San Diegans on the value of marriage equality, we at The Center certainly don’t do this work alone. We are fortunate to move this issue forward in a true spirit of collaboration and partnership with other community organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego-Imperial Counties, Equality California, the San Diego Democratic Club, the Log Cabin Republicans and several other local, state and national organizations.

But the truth is we need you. Organizations are only as strong as the people who support them and work for them. So, we need your ideas, your time, your resources, your energy and your stories.

There are many ways you can get involved and help make the Marriage Equality and Education Project a success.

You can take the “Say NO to Discrimination” pledge online at http://www.thecentersd.org/marriageproject.asp.

You can join us in our “Say NO to Discrimination!” pledge data entry parties. The next one will be Tuesday, Aug. 30, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at The Center, located at 3909 Centre St.

You can join us at the annual Dyke March festival on Saturday, Sept. 10, in Balboa Park and you can help get people to sign the “Say NO to Discrimination” pledge. There are several two-hour shifts available.

You can join us at San Diego AIDS Walk on Sunday, Oct. 2, in Balboa Park and you can help get people to sign the “Say NO to Discrimination” pledge. There are several two-hour shifts available.

You can join us at Family Matters’ annual family barbecue, their biggest and most fun event of the year. You won’t want to miss this full day of fun at Trolley Barn Park on Sunday, Sept. 18, and help us educate the community on how marriage discrimination hurts LGBT families.

You can learn more by checking out our Marriage Equality and Education Project Web page at http://www.thecentersd.org/marriageproject.asp.

To get involved with any of these opportunities, please call or e-mail me at (619) 692-2077 ext. 111 or at evaltierra@thecentersd.org. We need your help today!