As a part of a larger nationwide campaign to officially
recognize same-sex marriage, a UCLA student group is working to
mobilize youth support for a potential California ballot initiative
that would be put to a vote in 2006.
The newly organized Student Coalition for Marriage Equality
kicked off National Freedom to Marry Week on Monday by collecting
signatures across campus as part of a bigger movement to pass a
proposition legalizing same-sex marriage.
Activists are gathering signatures along with the signees’
contact information, which will be used to touch base with
supporters and encourage them to vote on the issue come state
elections in 2006.
Ashley Wise, a first-year communication studies and economics
student who was collecting signatures on Bruin Walk, said they
started today because they believed that the timing was appropriate
in light of Valentine’s Day.
Wise said she believes there is a lot of support for this issue
among college-aged groups, and though national organizations tap
into the pool of older generations, a student group is a lot more
successful in mobilizing students.
The group’s president, Gabriel Rose, started the coalition
as a continuation of a high school project that allowed him to
write the text to an initiative that would legalize marriage.
“This group started as a way to work toward that
goal,” Rose said.
Rose added that this voter identification method has previously
been used by other organizations to build a database of supporters
but not as a petition to get a measure on the ballot.
UCLA is one of the first schools in California to start a
program of this nature. Wise said the group is hoping to expand the
program beyond UCLA to encompass other University of California
campuses as well as community colleges.
Actions to promote same-sex marriage are not limited to UCLA.
Across the state and the country, various activist groups are
working this week to give a voice to the issues faced by same-sex
couples seeking marriage.
Equality California is one such group, and in recognition of
Freedom to Marry Week, they will be holding various events in
“every single county” in California, said Sylvia Rhue,
the California Freedom to Marry project manager for Equality
California.
“We want the securities that opposite-sex couples have. We
want to be able to plan for our future. We want to have the
security of knowing that our relationships are respected and
protected equally,” said Molly McKay, associate executive
director of Equality California, in a statement.
Though this was the first active day for the student group at
UCLA, they will take action periodically, with the ultimate goal of
passing a proposition legalizing same-sex marriage in 2006.
Group President Rose said Vote for Equality, a Los Angeles-based
gay rights group, provided the coalition with both training for the
voter identification work and also the necessary funding and
materials.
Wise said though a number of students clearly did not agree with
the group’s agenda, there were no extremely negative
reactions.
Another student collecting information on Bruin Walk on Monday
was Kevin Tran, a first-year political science student. Tran said
what motivated him to get involved is the fact that he simply
doesn’t understand how people can be against same-sex
marriage.
“I don’t see how legalizing it would hurt
anybody,” Tran said.
The movement to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide hit
several roadblocks in November 2004 when 11 states banned same-sex
marriages in their elections.