THE PRESENCE OF JUSTICE

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice." -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King gave these words in a 1955 response to an accusation that he was "disturbing the peace" by his activism during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the cause for justice toward our state's LGBT population under the sacred institution of marriage, the time has now come to disturb the peace. If justice is not present, then true peace has already been disturbed, violence is already rampant. The violence may not be in the sense of physical harm, but there is indeed a violence, a violation being committed against the dignity, the equality and the freedom of a portion of our Georgia citizens and their families without just cause. In now 9 states, (California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma and New Mexico) justification has been requested for denying the dignity, the equality, the rights, the benefits and the protections of marriage to mutually romantic couples of legal age who would not otherwise be denied marriage, save only for the fact of their same gender, and none has been presented because justice was not present. No justice, no peace.

Later on, King would write in his letter from a Birmingham jail cell, "the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured."

Opportunities to become true peacemakers and to strategically set-up for the coming marriage equality battle under The Gold Dome of the capitol in January of 2015 are coming up. Those who remember 2004 will strongly urge you and all who get the principles of justice and equality that we need all hands on deck. If we fail this time around it will only be because of the inaction of the silent masses who do not oppose us, rather than because of the unyielding resistance of those who do oppose us on every account of justice and equality. "The arch of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." -Rev. Dr. King.

How do we activate the silent masses? We start with ourselves and then bring along a friend, or two, or three, having them do the same to compound our efforts. This is how movements are begun. Albert Einstein is reported to have said "Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe" and “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.” This law applies to finance and biology as well as to social movements. In our case, our interest is in love, in justice and equality which pays steady dividends in true peace. To adapt the age old finance question, "Would you rather have a penny which doubles in value everyday or a million dollars?" I ask, "Would you rather be a lone activist who doubles everyday, or pay a million dollars for a million followers who do not understand the weight and purpose of their acts?" Today, may you choose to become a virus of peace. And so it is.

Grassroots Activity:

Tommorrow, Tuesday, April 8th 10AM: "Sonny" & Joyce "Jazzie" Jones-Smith are launching a statewide initiative to take a stand on Marriage Equality in the State of Georgia to encourage the 21,000+ same sex couples living in Georgia to go to their local county courthouse and apply for a marriage license on May 1st, 2014. Gay couples, families and supporters of marriage equality are invited to attend the press conference on Tuesday, April 8th, 2014 at 10a.m at the Morrow Center 1180 Southlake Circle #100 Morrow, Georgia 30260. 678-489-5161 Near the Southlake Mall. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP at this link: http://www.louddmouthradio.com/contacts.html . Learn more about this here: http://www.prlog.org/12304834-sonny-jazzie-of-louddmouthradiocom-launches-mayday-georgia-marriage-equality-initiative.html ;

Tuesday, April 15th 7PM: Alternative Perspectives- Tune into 89.3FM Atlanta or livestream online at http://wrfg.org/howlisten.asp Betty Couvertier's Marriage Equality segment featuring Branden Mattox and special guests this month, Lorraine of Moral Mondays and Atlanta Couple Larry and Nolan. Invite over 5 friends to listen and/or call-in to the show at 404-523-8989. Then discuss afterwards featuring potluck desert (Strawberry Shortcake) and game night, cards, monopoly, charades whatever. Have those 5 friends invite 5 more, and alternate hosting for this show which will occur every 3rd Tuesday of every month @ 7PM. If we wish to publicly host and invite for a listening party, please post your venue at www.facebook.com/LoveUnderFire or e-mail dir.loveunderfire@aol.com

Thursday, April 24th 7PM: Love Under Fire Spring '14 Planning Session #1, open to the public. Get involved with the coming grassroots activity of The Love Under Fire Campaign. We are needing those interested in leading, organizing and participating in future activities during the remainder of this year. The exact location is being determined, though will occur in either Atlanta or Decatur and will be announced next week. We need your talents, your passion and your energy. We will be developing further infrastructure in our campaign, detailing actions and phonebanking for the our next session in May. Bring a telephone contact list. If you have an interest in being a part of this, please contact our Secretary, Barry Stern at 678-760-0746 and/or email him at Sec.LoveUnderFire@aol.com

Saturday, April 26th 6PM-7:30PM: Be a part of the Fourth Annual Beloved Community Dialogue: An Intergenerational Conversation about Marriage Equalilty at The Friends School of Atlanta, the only Quaker school in Georgia. To be moderated by Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner, the panel discussing marriage equality will include: Robin Shahar, Mayor of Atlanta’s Adviser on LGBT issues; Dr. Susan Barrett, psychologist/advocate for LGBT families; Branden Mattox, Director of the Love Under Fire Campaign to repeal the Georgia ban on same-sex marriage; and Conrad Honicker, gay activist/student. The conversation will examine issues related to marriage equality ranging from legal,to the implications for families, to activism efforts, to rapidly changing attitudes about marriage equality, especially among younger people. If you have interests in getting involved in this movement as an activist, here is your opportunity to thoroughly educate yourself. If you really wish to get the most impact out of this event, bring along a "fence-sitter" or even an "objectionist" if you can. If you doubt your own abilities to challenge the nay-sayers in your life, the panel is stocked with over 100 years worth of civil rights and social justice activism experience combined, which is well equipped to address any reservations your guests may have. In fact, we prefer not to preach to the choir to make for a lively discussion. You don't have to be a Thurgood Marshall yourself to argue for equality before the court of public opinions. You may use discussion events such as these. Get more details and register here: http://bit.ly/1dxUsae

Civic Engagements:

JASON CARTER
With marriage equality coming to the state capitol at the next legislative session, by all means we need to do whatever it takes to get possession of the high ground, which means for us, the Governor's Office. If we want to win equality, we have no other choice other than Jason Carter, and he is not a bad choice, the grandson of former Georgia governor and US President, Jimmy Carter. With him as governor, the fight under the Gold Dome, will not be as steep. The requisite of signatures in both houses is only 51% to reach the Governor's desk, and we can count on Carter's signature. This is opposed to the 75% which will be needed to overturn a veto we can expect from Governor Deal. This is why Carter's election is crucial. "Take the high ground, facing the sunny side." Sun Tzu in The Art of War. Please get involved with his campaign and help him to victory however you are able at http://carterforgovernor.com/

MICHELLE NUNN
Our US Senator, Saxby Chambliss is retiring, which means one less conservative vote in the US Senate. We need to keep it that way with Obama's "Respect For Marriage Act" moving through congress. Surely, conservatives in this state will be vying to maintain that conservative vote and Michelle Nunn is our answer to defeating their efforts and bolstering the voice for equality, namely in the South. She now has a dedicated LGBT contingent which meets bi-weekly for phonebanking, telefundraising and canvassing. The next game night for her LGBT contingent is this Wednesday, April 9th, starting at 5:30PM-9PM at 1206 Spring St NW, Atlanta GA 30309. You may also contact Andy Ratto for further details @ andy@georgiavictory2014.com work: 404-445-6700 ext 133 or cell: 678-561-7248. You will be paid in pizza and snacks. Learn about more opportunities of getting involved at www.michellenunn.com ;

KYLE WILLIAMS
Ahead of Rep. Dr. Karla Drenner's and fellow progressive voices in the State House resolution to begin repeals of Georgia's Marriage Ban in 2015, Kyle Williams was the first to announce that he would "unequivocally and without hesitation" do so if elected to replace Jason Carter as Senator of Georgia's 42nd district. Regardless of what Drenner and her caucus decides to do, we still need him and his intentions in the Senate. If elected, he would be the first and only "openly" gay male in the Georgia Senate, which means that when the conversation reaches that side of our government, we have someone who knows personally, not vicariously our struggles and can effectively advocate for them. How can you help him to victory? His headquarters, The High House at 1830 Sycamore St, Decatur, GA 30030 will be open from 2:30 through 7pm on Tuesday through Thursdays for:
- Phone invites to our Meet & Greet events
- Filling out neighbor-2-neighbor cards
- Helping with data entry (for someone who has a laptop you can bring)
- Helping with list cleanup in Kyle's contacts
- Organizing materials for Kyle and volunteers who are canvassing

Each Saturday - we'll have Walk With Kyle days where volunteers can come to High House at 10:30AM and head out with Kyle to walk a neighborhood door-to-door. Learn about other ways you can help @ http://kylewilliams2014.com/


THE LONE WOLF:
You may always choose to work independently yet in tandem with this movement. Doing what you can do from where you are is what this is all about. You don't have to wait for anyone's permission to get to work. You may start with forwarding this e-mail. His is a list of 10 other things you may do. http://loveunderfirega.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-can-i-do-in-name-of-love.html

If you have any related events you would like to add to our calendar, please e-mail dir.loveunderfire@aol.com details about it.

And now, I send you off with a weekly tune to pump up your spirits: "The Man" by Aloe Blacc

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