Right to Marry Arizona 2010 Begins
Editor’s note: This update was composed on Thursday August 5th.
Today we began the 3rd Annual Right to Marry: Arizona Campaign. We gathered at Dolce Espresso with joy in our hearts and a sense of renewed hope after the ruling on Wednesday that Prop 8 is unconstitutional!
As we hit the road to our first destination, Lake Havasu City, we take the energy and love from this decision with us on the road.
For the next week we will walk across 98 miles across Northern Arizona seeking earnest discussion and cordial fellowship. The 98 miles is a representation of the number of years that Arizona has been a state without full equality for all citizens.
Our goal is to carefully and collectively examine the intersection wherein scripture and social norms meet gender and human sexuality. And more practically, we hope to share and gain insights about how related policies and doctrines impact the lives of everyone in a community. These conversations are undeniably essential in creating a safe environment for all citizens of Arizona.
Over the next week our feet will hit the pavement and we will be speaking with police officers, city managers, faith communities, elected officials and people in diverse districts.
During the 98 mile pilgrimage we will carry rainbow umbrellas, consume gallons of water, and get blisters on every part of our feet.
We will push our bodies, minds and spirits, but our hearts and faith in change will carry us through, and we will be able to change hearts and minds along the way.
As we begin this journey I know that we will not see the immediate impact of our conversations, but that like a stone in a pond we will cause a ripple effect of love and acceptance.
With each step we take we will plant seeds that will grow in others and will be harvested as our society comes to understand the value of affirming the loving, covenanted relationships of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members.
As we made the trek across the desert tonight I looked around the van, I looked into the eyes of my fellow Equality Walkers as they told their stories and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I felt hope for tomorrow, and a sense of calm in my heart that the road for justice would reach our destination, full equality.
This is an amazing group of justice seekers, hearts and minds will be changed this week. Lives will be impacted, and the ten of us will never be the same.
Soulforce is co-sponsoring the Right to Marry Walk in Arizona and you can support Meg and her team financially by contributing online.
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Cindy H
