February 12 is the second annual National Freedom to Marry Day in the U.S., a date chosen for the combination of equality and love represented by President Abraham Lincoln's birthday on the same date and Valentine's Day two days later. A wide range of actions have been planned in well over 60 cities in more than 30 states to raise public awareness and increase understanding of the issue of equal marriage rights. There are already reports of some early events.

California
In California, where an initiative to prohibit legal recognition of same-gender marriages will appear on the ballot in 2000, Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) kicked off the state's events at a press conference in Sacramento on February 11. Noting there are more than 300 instances in state law of rights, responsibilities and benefits of legal marriage which are not available to gay and lesbian couples, Villaraigosa pledged his support for recognition of domestic partnerships. He said, "It is critical that we recognize all of California's diverse families, including gay and lesbian couples and their children. In an era when so many espouse the importance of so-called 'family values,' we must acknowledge and celebrate the nurturing, the guidance and the support inherent in all family units."

Also speaking was Reverend Don Fado, the organizer of the recent "ecclesiastic disobedience" in which he and more than 90 other Methodist ministers joined in celebrating the union of lesbian couple Jeanne Barnett and Ellie Charlton, in defiance of church doctrine. He noted, as he has before, that, "Our church allows us to bless people's cars, occupations, houses, their pets, and even their tractor, but we are now told that we may not bless two human beings who wish to pledge fidelity and love to one another." Appearing with Villaraigosa and Fado were state Senator Kevin Murray, openly lesbian Assemblymember Sheila Kuehl, and couple of 20 years Jim Zimmerman and Christopher Smith.

New York City
In New York City on February 11, the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force demonstrated outside the Immigration and Naturalization Service to protest discriminatory treatment of binational same-gender couples. "Love knows no borders," they chanted; one sign read, "I love an alien." Group members said that it was an issue not of immigration but of the lack of legal marriage for same-gender couples, and that at least 10,000 couples are affected. Legally married couples can file for the immigration of their foreign national spouses, who are routinely granted residence permits; gays and lesbians cannot petition for their partners, who are typically rejected.

A statement from the group said, "The stated purposes of U.S. immigration law is 'family unity,' but this law does not recognize our families.... As a consequence, many binational same-sex families are forced to endure long separations and exorbitant travel fees (if we see each other only during infrequent, legal visits) or to bear the constant threat of arrest (if we choose to stay together without the government's permission). Our families have been and continue to be torn apart because of the government's unwillingness to recognize our relationships as valid and loving." One lesbian couple at the demonstration was considering trying to relocate to Canada to be together, since the foreign member's U.S. work visa had expired. Carl Goodman, whose partner is Peruvian, said, "We often face an excruciating choice: our partners can either live an ocean apart or stay surreptitiously in the U.S. without proper papers and under threat of deportation."

Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, where a bill to deny legal recognition to same-gender marriages has been introduced in the legislature, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, an ecumenical group of clergy, at a gathering in Boston called on their state to recognize gay and lesbian couples. Episcopalian priest George Welles read a statement signed by more than 150 religious leaders, which compared the denial of same-gender marriages to the former denial of interracial marriages, and said it "creates legal and economic inequities in addition to its social injustice." Rabbi Howard Berman described the denial of marriage rights as "a weapon of oppression against minorities," and said he'd "shared the pain of many loving, committed couples who have suffered greatly because they lack the legal protections that all other married citizens take for granted." Reverend Joan Saniuk of the gay-affirming Metropolitan Community Church said, "As with any marriage, same-gender couples have a better chance of a successful relationship when society acknowledges and encourages them."