In January, The Center launched its “Digital Story Quilt” with the goal to patch together the lives and voices of hundreds of San Diego GLBT voices through digital media. As part of this, The Center will host a red carpet premiere featuring “Marriage Equality Stories,” the results of its Marriage Equality Digital Storytelling Project, on Monday, April 17, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Marriage Equality Digital Storytelling Project is a collaborative effort between San Diegans Against Marriage Discrimination, The Center’s Marriage Equality & Education Project and Equality California. The project is designed to help Californians understand the real impact of marriage discrimination using images, narratives and stories to become a voice for marriage equality. The Center created the project last year to give individuals and same-sex couples the opportunity to tell their personal relationship stories digitally.

“I think anyone who views these short films will be moved by how poignant and personal each story is. They are clearly a powerful tool in illustrating the reasons marriage discrimination must end in California,” said Delores Jacobs, chief executive officer of The Center. “Our premiere of these digital films will be a chance for the whole community to view this valuable body of work and get further involved in our marriage education and equality efforts.”

San Diegans Against Marriage Discrimination chair Sid Voorakkara said the Marriage Equality Digital Storytelling Project’s goals go hand-in-hand with SDAMD’s primary mission to educate Californians about marriage discrimination and how real people are impacted by discriminatory policies that deny same-sex couples basic rights.

“I think the digital storytelling project is one of the most powerful ways we can share the stories of couples and their families with a broad audience,” Voorakkara said. “I think the couples and families that participate in this project are brave individuals. They are doing something that is not easy for anyone: They are opening up their hearts and sharing what is considered very private and personal. And by doing so, they break down the invisible wall that separates us from each other.”

Voorakkara said he hopes publicizing these stories will help viewers make connections to their own lives.

“It is at this point that someone watching the video may think, ‘What if it were my loved one in the emergency room and I couldn’t be by their side?’ The moment that happens, we start to change minds and win hearts – and when we do that, we are on our way to ending marriage discrimination in California,” he said.

Equality California field organizer Fernando Lopez-Sager and his partner, Michael Sager, are featured in the first marriage equality digital story, which can be viewed at www.thecentersd.org/digital. During the two-minute video, Lopez-Sager discusses a time when Sager had to be rushed to the hospital due to illness and was hospitalized for five days.

“I rushed him to the emergency room and they refused to let me in, citing the fact that we weren’t legally married,” Lopez-Sager says in the video. “Eventually, I argued my way in, claiming that our marriage was legal… It became clear then that we were not equal citizens.”

Lopez-Sager said he hopes the struggles he and his partner went through will have a lasting impact.

“A story like ours gets people angry. It shows people the discrimination we still face in this country, it shows them the progress we have made and have yet to make, and it shows that we can all do something to help move our community forward,” he said.

The video took Lopez-Sager a few hours to complete, spread over a two-day period, but individual production times can vary based on computer familiarity.

“Don’t be scared off, though, if you’re not that computer savvy,” Lopez-Sager said. “The Center has plenty of people to help you along the creative process.”

Eddie Valtierra, The Center’s Marriage Equality & Education Project coordinator, said participants are guided through the steps they will need to complete a story, and should be prepared to bring pictures, music and their voice.

The Center will release more stories as they become available, with the goal of having five to eight stories to screen at the April premiere, Valtierra said.

“This project presents the community with an amazing opportunity to tell our true stories of love, adversity, struggle and commitment,” Valtierra said. “We want diverse LGBT families to share their stories.

“Not only are we looking for LGBT couples to tell their stories, but we also want LGBT families with children, parents of LGBT couples, children of LGBT couples and widowed partners to share their stories with this project,” he added. “We want to give members of the community the opportunity to become a voice for marriage equality.”

In addition to the digital stories, the premiere event will feature the documentary One Wedding and a Revolution by Academy Award-winner Debra Chasnoff. The short film recounts the political and legal challenges faced by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom after he granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004. The film also chronicles the wedding vows between longtime lesbian activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, San Francisco residents who, upon celebrating their 51st anniversary, were the first couple to marry in there.

The Center’s April 17 event is free to attend and the public is welcome, organizers said. For more information, contact Valtierra, at (619) 692-2077 ext. 111 or evaltierra@thecentersd.org.

A special orientation for those interested in the Marriage Equality Digital Storytelling project will take place at The Center on Wednesday, March 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. To RSVP, contact Lindsay Sullivan, information technology manager, at (619) 692-2077 ext. 107 or lsullivan@thecentersd.org.

An ongoing digital media workshop takes place every Thursday in The Center’s David Bohnett Cyber Center from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The Center is located at 3909 Centre St.