Newsletters

"DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" OFFICIALLY ENDS The U.S. military 's discriminatory "Don't Ask , Don't Tell " Policy, which prohobited openly gay men and women from enlisting , officially ended at midnight last night. We first broke news of the intended repeal in December of 2010 , and to see it finally taking effect is truly surreal. For so many years, the government told the LGBT community it was acceptable to put your life on the line for this country if, and only if, they concealed who they were. As of today - September 20 , 2011 - gay and lesbian men and women can now openly serve our country in the armed forces without fear of losing their military career; a massive step forward for equal rights. Because of extensive training that the military has already gone through, the repeal - which officially goes into effect today - is expected to be an easy transition. Shockingly, the United States is now the 30th country to allow service members to serve openly. Today really is a true victory for gays and lesbian rights, and we hope all of you see the successful repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell ( DADT ) as a result of years of work and dedication. It took a long time, but that hard work finally paid off - and it can again. We must take this example of what uniting our resources can accomplish and direct that energy toward achieving equal federal rights across the United States. You can support your country and those in it but remembering to register to vote and exercising your right to be heard. We recognize the bravery of the service members that lent their faces to the NOH 8 Campaign in 2011 (featured in this blog), and those who came before them . We express our gratitude to each and every man and woman who was forced to serve their country in secret, and those who were punished for living their lives honestly and openly. To every person whose life was affected by Don't Ask Don't Tell - we honor YOU today. more

Hello NOH 8 Supporters! We wanted to take an opportunity to remind all of you that we'll be hosting our first open photo shoot at Vegas Pride TOMORROW (Saturday) . You can find all the details listed below. As an example of some of the ideas people have incorporated into their own NOH 8 portraits, we also wanted to include our latest blog ("Milwaukee Moves Forward"), featuring highlights from our open photo shoot in Milwaukee last month. NOTE : For any of you planning to attend the open photo shoot in Vegas tomorrow, we are looking for just a few more volunteers . If you're interested and available to help at Vegas Pride tomorrow, simply reply to this e-mail! Thank you, and enjoy your weekend. TEAM NOH 8 more

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE DETAILS FOR THURSDAY'S OPEN PHOTO SHOOT AT SOUTHERN DECADENCE IN NEW ORLEANS BELOW THE MONTGOMERY-DUBAN STORY! ONLY 1 DAY LEFT TO "LIKE" THE MONTGOMERY-DUBAN FAMILY'S NOH 8 LANDING PAGE AND HELP US REACH OUR 100,000 "LIKE" GOAL! We're only 18k Likes away from reaching our goal -- please click here to visit this page and be sure to click the "Like" button -- and share the link with your friends in the final hours! The Montgomery-Duban Family is a modern family making a big difference. Some of you might remember them from our Father's Day blog earlier this summer. The Montgomery-Dubans have issued a unique challenge to NOH 8 Supporters: Help the Montgomery-Duban Family gain 100,000 Facebook Likes before September 1 st, and they'll donate $10,000 to the NOH 8 Campaign! What do you need to do? Simply click this link and "Like" the page by clicking the floating button on the left-hand side ! You can also visit the main page of NOH 8 Campaign.com and click on the "Like" button below the Montgomery-Duban countdown banner on the right-hand side of the page. Please share these links with your friends! If we can reach the 100,000 "Like" Goal by September 1 st and help the Montgomery-Duban Family raise awareness about their own story , they will make a gracious $10,000 donation that will help the NOH 8 Campaign grow and continue to spread our message of equality and anti-discrimination all over the world. And the best part? It only takes 1 Click of your time! Chelsea Montgomery-Duban has risen to the forefront of LGBT activism over the past few years, and frequently travels the country speaking at various events and functions for a number of LGBT organizations advocating equal rights including  PFLAG and the  Human Rights Campaign . She is perhaps most recognized for the speech she gave at her Dad and Daddy's wedding in 200 8 during the brief window of time same-sex marriages were legalized in the state of California.   "The NOH 8 Campaign is doing incredible things to spur on this movement for the LGBT community. They are finding a way to speak out that is more powerful than words . People cannot argue with a photograph, and it's said that a picture is worth 1,000 words; but NOH 8 photos do so much more —they show gay, straight, transgender and bisexual people as well as families coming together to promote love and acceptance. Anyone is welcome to a have a picture taken and every single person that does is making a huge statement that it's all about love , not hate. That's why I'm proud to support the work of the NOH 8 Campaign and encourage everyone to join with me in their fight for equality!!" - Chelsea Montgomery-Duban As an official 501(c)(3) charitable organization , the mission of the NOH 8 Campaign is to promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest. Funds raised by the  NOH 8 Campaign will be used to continue promoting and raising awareness for marriage equality and anti-discrimination through  NOH 8 ’s interactive media campaign. more

The Montgomery-Duban Family is a modern family making a big difference. Some of you might remember them from our Father's Day blog earlier this summer. The Montgomery-Dubans have issued a unique challenge to NOH 8 Supporters: Help the Montgomery-Duban Family gain 100,000 Facebook Likes before September 1 st, and they'll donate $10,000 to the NOH 8 Campaign! more

By now, many of you may have already heard the news about the tragic stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair this past weekend; a devastating accident that claimed the lives of five people and injured dozens more. What you may not have heard, however, and what we at the NOH 8 Campaign have been particularly saddened to discover ourselves, is that one of the five more