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Alternatives to Marriage Project Update:
In this issue: Join Us! Upcoming Houseparties in Boston and D.C. Here's your chance to meet other Alternatives to Marriage Project supporters, celebrate recent advances in the movement to support unmarried people and families, gear up for work yet to do, and make a contribution to help make it all possible. Enjoy hot drinks and cool people, or if you prefer, cool drinks and hot people. Boston party: THIS SATURDAY, Feb. 21, 2:30 to 4 p.m., Jamaica Plain Special pre-party performance about marriage and alternatives to marriage by the improv group True Story Theater (1 - 2:30, $5). D.C. party: Friday, March 19, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Georgetown. Email us to request invitations with location details for either party! Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter Forming Local Alternatives to Marriage Project organizers in the Twin Cities are making plans to launch a local chapter. The chapter could organize local social or support events, do political advocacy work on issues affecting unmarried people, or work on other projects -- from fun to serious -- that inspire its members. If you live in the area and want to find out about Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter events, contact us with "Twin Cities chapter" in the subject line. Interested in starting a local AtMP chapter in your area? If you have some time and energy, we'll provide ideas, materials, and assistance! Email us to learn more. AtMP Founders to Keynote Conference Alternatives to Marriage Project founders Marshall Miller and Dorian Solot will be the keynote speakers at BiZone's Endless Possibilities conference, Saturday, April 24th in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Come meet Marshall and Dorian in person, hear their vision for the future, laugh at the surprises they encountered doing alternatives to marriage activism, be outraged at the backlash against the family diversity movement, get inspired to make a difference. For more information, visit the conference website. Can AtMP Borrow Your Conference Room? (Boston/Cambridge) Needed in Boston or Cambridge: Someone whose workplace would let a group of AtMP volunteers or board members occasionally use their conference room. The room need not be fancy, but would need a table that seats at least 10 people, easy access to public transportation, access to a telephone to receive incoming calls, and permission to bring in food/drink. We'd be interested in using the room on occasional weekday evenings or weekends. If you have something that might meet our needs, please email us. Thank you! AtMP Moves to Albany, NY -- Volunteers Needed!
We've moved! AtMP's new location is right in downtown Albany, blocks from the state capitol, providing much easier access for interns and volunteers than our former location. And New York State has the highest percentage of unmarried adults in the nation! AtMP's new contact information: The saddest thing about leaving Boston was leaving AtMP's wonderful community of friends and volunteers. We need a new volunteer base in our new home city. We are seeking people with a variety of skills and time availability: people help stuff, stick, and seal mailings, others to provide administrative support in our office, and professionals (lawyers, accountants, graphic designers, printers, etc.) who can help with specific projects or questions. If you're in New York's Capital Region and can lend a and (or two) on an occasional or ongoing basis, please email us. Seeking Same-Sex Couples Who Don't Want to Marry AtMP has been getting calls from journalists working on articles about same-sex marriage who want to include the diversity of perspectives on the subject within the GLBT community. Some of them are looking for same-sex couples to interview who don't personally want to get married even if they have the option, regardless of whether or not they support the political movement for freedom to marry. Does that describe you, and would you be willing to share your perspective with a reporter? If so, email us your phone number (daytime if possible) and a brief description of your situation and/or thoughts that we can share. Thanks! Write for our Website and Newsletter! AtMP is continuing to expand our list of available newsletter and website writers. We can provide story ideas, and we also welcome your submissions and ideas. If you're interested in contributing your skills and opinions, email Karen Sosnoski with "newsletter writing" in the subject line. Foundation Solicits Proposals for Study of Never-Married The Anthony Marchionne Foundation provides small grants for research about people who have never married and the psychology of being single. The current call for proposals deadline is April 30, 2004. Click here for more information. Register to Vote! Want to see change in the U.S.? Collectively, the voice of AtMP's supporters can help bring about a world more supportive of family diversity. Once election day arrives, it'll be too late to register to vote. If you're not already registered, it's quick and easy to do so today. AtMP in the Media CNN Shows AtMP, Concerned Women for America DebateIn January, CNN broadcast a short debate between AtMP co-founder Marshall Miller and Concerned Women for America president Sandy Rios, about President Bush's initiative to promote marriage. As if spending $1.5 billion to promote (heterosexual) marriage wasn't enough, Rios used the platform to push Bush to support the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage (and all recognition of unmarried relationships).
USA Weekend Quotes AtMP
Newhouse Newspapers Explore Gay-Only DP Benefits
Other AtMP's media appearances in the last quarter included: Valentine's Reflection: True Love and Marriage
by Mary Esselman and Elizabeth Velez Maybe what we need is a reality check - what Robert Frost might call a "momentary stay against confusion." We need to be reminded of something we know is true - that real love, as opposed to commercialized love does exist, in huge range and depth and pitch. And we can find it by flipping off the TV, ignoring Hallmark hooey, and turning to what poet laureate Billy Collins has called "the only history of the human heart we have" - poetry. In poetry, we'll find the real thing, love in all its trouble and simplicity, a centuries-old "reality" story told by the world's most brilliant, hilarious, heartbreaking observers of the human condition... Read the full article. Opinion: 'Marry' Me?
by Robert McRuer I was on my way to teach an undergraduate course in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) studies, and I knew I had to somehow address what was going on with my students. . . Read the full article. Articles written by individuals are the opinions of the authors, and not necessarily the opinions of the Alternatives to Marriage Project. |
