The community is invited to a Rainbow Potluck and Emergency Queer Town Meeting on Wednesday, October 29 at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Williamstown. Organized by the Williams College Queer Student Union and the First Congregational Church in Williamstown, this meeting is to address the propositions which will appear on ballots in many states on November 4.. They will amend state constitutions to say that marriage is “Only” between a man and a woman.

Come with a potluck dish to share and your cell phone in hand. In an effort to be environmentally responsible we encourage people also to bring their own plates, glasses, and cutlery. Coffee and tea will be provided.

After dinner, participants who wish to may make calls to voters in California urging them to vote “No” on that state’s Proposition 8.
Proposition 8 will appear on the California ballot titled “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.” If it passes, it will add a new constitutional amendment to the California Constitution that will say “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” and it will be known in law as the California Marriage Protection Act.
This past May, the California Supreme Court invalidated that statute on the grounds that it violated the state constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The Court ruled that the right to marry is a fundamental individual right that must be provided equally to all people desiring to marry. Allowing same-sex couples to share in this right does not denigrate or degrade the marriages of people who enter into the man-woman form of marriage and should be regarded as a civil right.

Marriage is the institution that conveys dignity and respect to the lifetime commitment of any couple. Those committed and loving couples who want to accept the responsibility that comes with marriage should be treated like everyone else.