As you know, in October of 2008—after eight years of dialogue with neighbors, community leaders, clergy and our elected officials—Connecticut’s highest court upheld the right of every individual to marry the one they love.  In acknowledging the inherent logic and fairness of providing equal marriage rights to same-sex couples in Connecticut, the Connecticut Supreme Court has brought closure to a decade of work by Love Makes a Family volunteers, supporters and staff.  

Having accomplished our core mission, Love Makes a Family has begun preparations to cease operations on December 31, 2009, allowing our staff, board and community of supporters to focus their energies on the myriad of community issues still facing our state and country.

As I have always planned to do once our marriage goal was accomplished, I will be stepping down from my position at Love Makes a Family as of July 1st.  It has been a wonderful eight years, but it is time for me to take a break and to spend time with my very patient wife, Charlotte.  I would not be leaving if I did not feel confident that the plan laid out by our Board of Directors will secure for all time the marriage rights now provided to our citizens, and empower LGBT and civil rights activists across the state to continue their work to make Connecticut a safer and better place for all our residents.

MAKING THE DECISION

In September 2008, Love Makes a Family began a strategic planning process to help determine our place in the future of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) activism in Connecticut.  We knew that marriage equality was on the horizon—whether through the courts or through the legislature—and we wanted to be prepared for next steps once this occurred.

During this planning process, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that marriage was a right of all citizens of the state without regard to gender or sexual orientation.  Love Makes a Family had achieved our core purpose, and our planning process became even more critical.  

As part of our process, we engaged the assistance of members of the Love Makes a Family community (both board and non-board) to serve as members of a Strategic Planning Committee. The mandate of the Committee was to thoughtfully consider Love Makes a Family’s relevance and role in the LGBT community and to recommend a course of action for our future.  

Over several months, the Committee gathered ideas, opinions and perspectives from Love Makes a Family constituents and community leaders via surveys, focus groups, 1:1 meetings, and phone calls.  Information gathered in this process was analyzed, and options for our organization’s future were developed.  

After long and careful consideration and dialogue about the best interests of the LGBT community and its resources in Connecticut, we have concluded that the organization should plan to complete its work, and then cease operations on December 31, 2009.   

We understand the emotional response this decision may evoke in our supporters and coalition partners. Being a part of this successful marriage equality movement has been an amazing experience for so many of us here in Connecticut. But we have accomplished our mission, and now we want to conclude our work on a high note: celebrating our successes, completing the work that is left to do, and sharing our organizational resources with others to further empower the Connecticut LGBT community for many years to come.

NEXT STEPS: AN ACTIVE NINE MONTHS

Love Makes a Family’s plan over the next nine months will include:  

·      Smoothly Enact Marriage Equality

We are absolutely confident that marriage equality is here to stay in Connecticut. We would never close our doors if we felt otherwise.

In the coming months, ensuring that Connecticut’s new marriage law is understood and properly implemented is our top priority. We have held informational forums and provided one-on-one assistance to couples, to clergy and Justices of the Peace, and to employers—and we will continue to do that over the coming months.

On the legislative front, what we expect to pass this session is a bill that won strong, bipartisan approval in the Judiciary Committee on Monday that conforms state statutes to the Kerrigan ruling and clarifies the status of civil unions for the future. Marriage equality is now the law in Connecticut, but we will be working hard over the coming weeks to ensure that this bill is enacted.

·      Secure Support of Connecticut Congressional Delegation to Repeal DOMA

A significant majority of Love Makes a Family supporters said very clearly that after protecting marriage equality in Connecticut, repealing the federal DOMA is their top priority. (DOMA is the law passed by Congress in 1996 that deprives legally married same-sex couples significant federal rights and protections of marriage, such as Social Security survivor benefits).  

The repeal of DOMA will not happen overnight and will require advocacy efforts in every state. But as one of only two states that currently allows same-sex couples to marry, Connecticut has a unique role to play in collecting and sharing real stories of discrimination and added hardships faced by married couples because of DOMA. 

For that reason, we will use the next nine months to focus our organizing and lobbying efforts on the seven members of the Connecticut Congressional delegation (Senators Dodd and Lieberman; Representatives Larson, Courtney, DeLauro, Himes, and Murphy) to ask them not simply to vote to repeal DOMA, but also to be leaders in its repeal. Many in our Congressional delegation already support a repeal of DOMA, but with your continued advocacy over the coming months, our goal is to have 100% support. GLADs recent legal challenge to DOMA—Gill et. al. v. Department of Personnel Management—will move forward in the courts, but advocacy work in Congress must begin as well. 

·      Lobby for Legislation to Protect the Transgender Community

Love Makes a Family’s primary mission has been to win marriage equality for same-sex couples, but in 2005, we joined the state Anti Discrimination Coalition to help pass legislation to prohibit discrimination against transgender people. A strong coalition of organizations is working hard to make 2009 the year that bill passes, and Love Makes a Family will remain an active part of that effort this session.

·      Ensure a Pro-Equality Legislature for the Future/Provide an Ongoing LGBT Political Voice in Connecticut

Before anyone worries that the LGBT community is losing its political presence in the state, let me say very clearly that while our educational and lobbying arms will cease operations in December, we will maintain and strengthen the Love Makes a Family Political Action Committee. 

Love Makes a Family’s Political Action Committee exists to elect individuals who support equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. New threats to LGBT equality may surface in the future, and it is critical that elected officials remain supportive and accountable.

·      Document our Successful Strategies and Share with Other States

We recognize the importance of documenting the strategies that have been successful in Connecticut and sharing them with other states. There are first-rate LGBT organizations across the country that we have worked with and learned from over many years. By compiling the story of how marriage was won here, we hope it will provide helpful, replicable ideas for other states to use.

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The work of creating a better community for all our citizens is not complete.  However, we at Love Makes a Family are proud to stand hand-in-hand with the community partners whose work has made, and will continue to make, a difference to the lives of so many of Connecticut’s residents.  Over the coming months, we will be working closely with our organizational partners to ensure that any gaps in service are covered.

It would be impossible to thank all the individuals and organizations who have played a role in making our work a success. There are simply too many to name. Please know, however, that your heartfelt dedication, your time, your financial support and your thoughtful input were the basis for achieving marriage equality in Connecticut. 

In July, I will leave Love Makes a Family in the steady hands of our dedicated Board of Directors and an Interim Executive Director to oversee the final months of operation. Several of our staff members have already moved on to other states to continue the marriage equality work elsewhere; others will remain until December to implement our remaining organizational goals.

My nearly nine years at Love Makes a Family have been the highlight of my career. This work has been so much more than a job because I have been able to work with committed individuals like each of you, individuals who never questioned the right of all to be equal. Thank you for your support of our mission and your support of me. I have no immediate plans for the future other than taking a break and enjoying the summer. What I do know is that I will be around to help the community in any way that I can.

In closing, let me reiterate that Love Makes a Family is proud of the legacy it leaves, both in our work with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and others to bring marriage equality to our state, and in the changed face of activism in Connecticut.  The successful grassroots organizing model implemented by Love Makes a Family has created skilled and thoughtful new leaders who know their elected officials, who know how to organize, and who will continue to work for a better quality of life for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in a variety of life-changing areas, in collaboration with the experienced leaders at the helms of the many other excellent LGBT organizations across our state. 

All of us who have been a part of Love Makes a Family over the last nine years look forward to an exciting future for the LGBT community in Connecticut and to the engagement of new leaders for change.

        Sincerely,

        Anne Stanback
        Executive Director

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