GLAAD, NGLTF, and Freedom to Marry have collaborated on an ad campaign promoting marriage rights for “gay and lesbian” couples entitled “Marriage Matters.” It talks about the discrimination faced by “gays and lesbians” and how they are working to protect “gay and lesbian families.” Many organizations have co-signed the ad but not one bi organization was invited to sign.

To read the ad, click on the link below, then click on the ad. A PDF will pop up where you can enlarge the text so it is actually readable.

http://www.thetaskforce.org/community/marriagead.cfm  

When these errors of omission were pointed out by bi activists to Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), he responded that since all the plaintiffs in the NY lawsuit identify as gay and lesbian, they went with that language in the ad. (And that the press release alternates “gay and lesbian” with “same-sex,” which he feels is inclusive enough.) Bialogue pointed out to him that this case is about everyone who is being denied the right to marry a same-sex partner, not just the people in the lawsuit and also that not one bi organization was invited to sign the ad. 

See excerpt from our letter below:

“It's the decision to use "gay and lesbian" language only in the ad and the fact that you don’t see any problem with doing that is what we take issue with. An inclusive-minded writer wouldn't have done so. You are not fighting this fight only on behalf of the couples in the lawsuit. You are fighting it on behalf of all people who don’t have the right to marry a same-sex partner. That includes bi people. One of the first same-sex couples who already did marry in Massachusetts included noted bi activist Robyn Ochs.

You didn’t even ask bi organizations to co-sign the ad, as far as I know. No one contacted Bialogue, I know that for sure.”

So far there has been no apology or even understanding of our points, only justifications.

Let NGLTF, GLAAD and Freedom to Marry know that you are unhappy about their choice of exclusionary language in the Marriage Matters ad, unhappy that they did not include bi organizations as signees and unhappy about their “alternating” approach in the press release. We appreciate all their hard work in this cause but don’t appreciate being treated like second-class citizens in our own community. This public exclusion from the ad sets people up to assume that our same-sex relationships are more like a hobby and we would never want to marry a same-sex partner.

Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation:
Neil G. Giuliano, President 
giuliano@glaad.org  

Rashad Robinson
646/871-8017 (office)
646/573-3949 (cell)
robinson@glaad.org  

National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force:
Matt Foreman, Executive Director
646.358.1460
mforeman@thetaskforce.org  

Roberta Sklar
646/358-1465 (office)
917/704-6358 (cell)
rsklar@theTaskForce.org  

Freedom to Marry:
Evan Wolfson, Executive Director
evan@freedomtomarry.org  

Charles Ignacio, Deputy Director
charles@freedomtomarry.org  

Samiya Bashir
212/851-8418 (office)
917/617-8660 (cell)
samiya@freedomtomarry.org