In the past couple of weeks, Join The Impact has been working with Equal Rights Washington, the State's leading LGBT advocacy organization, to promote the 2009 Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill and Marriage Equality Bill. These bills have now been filed!!!

Here is the vision: Everyone agrees that marriage equality is the ultimate goal, and that Washington's families will not have all the protections and equal treatment they deserve until civil marriage rights for same-sex couples are secured.We must do our work with smarts and responsibility to ensure these rights become a reality!The Domestic Partnership bills are set up to provide immediate protections for Washington's families, which is especially important during an economic crisis. The Domestic Partnership bills are an excellent opportunity to talk about marriage equality. Through the DP bills, we are able to start conversations with people from all different backgrounds (including elected officials) about the importance of marriage equality. Domestic Partnerships are incredibly important to protecting LGBT families now, but they will not confer the 1,138 federal protections of marriage nor social equality that comes with marriage rights.So as we work together to protect families we also work together to educate the public and the legislature to build marriage equality majorities.

Here are two easy and effective ways to take action:

http://eqfed.org/campaign/lettersforequality Write a letter to the editor in support of equality in Washington!

http://eqfed.org/campaign/DP_2009_jointheimpact Write a letter in support of the 2009 DP Expansion Bill to your elected officials!