Freedom to Marry Day will be celebrated in Old Town Square in Fort Collins at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 21. The 10th annual rally will include speakers and music. Rally supporters will then march to Avogadro's Number, 605 S. Mason St. for a reception that includes wedding cake, entertainment by Driftwood Fire and other festivities.
Freedom to Marry Day is a day to honor and support marriage and family bonds for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation. It is celebrated in many cities nationwide. The Fort Collins Old Town event will feature music by Jill Brzezicki and the combined Tapestry and Foothills Unitarian Church Choirs.
Rob Short, Equal Rights Colorado board member, will present the keynote. Other presentations by Julie Wilson, PFLAG-Fort Collins, a committed same-sex couple and a youth representative will follow.
Within the federal system, 1,138 laws are triggered by civil marriage. Over 100 more are triggered on a state level. Some of the typical rights and responsibilities granted with a civil marriage license include:
* Assumption of spouse's pension
* Automatic inheritance
* Automatic housing lease transfer
* Bereavement leave
* Burial/remains determination
* Child custody
* Crime victim recovery benefits
* Divorce protection
* Domestic violence protections
* Joint adoption and foster care
* Legal co-parenting (Insurance, School Records, Medical Decisions, etc)
* Medical decisions on behalf of spouse
* Right to visit a spouse in the hospital or prison
* Right to become a legal parent to a partner's child
* Visitation of spouse's children in the event of separation
* Work leave to care for a sick partner under family medical leave laws and when a spouse gives birth/adopts under parental leave laws
*Wrongful death settlements
"In the wake of California's homophobic Proposition 8, we are coming together in Fort Collins to speak out for a better vision and the promise of a just society, " said Cheryl Distaso, Freedom to Marry committee chairperson.
Currently, Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey have civil union laws. The Freedom to Marry Day committee goal is to see Colorado, and ultimately the entire United States, move towards the ultimate goal of same-sex marriage, as is the case in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is the only state that offers full rights of same-sex marriage.
Freedom to Marry Day gives all members of the community an opportunity to come together to recognize the importance of ending sex discrimination in marriage, so that lesbian and gay couples can share in the rights and protections of civil marriage.
