On April 1, 2010 millions of Americans are going to wake up and wonder what joke is going to be played on them. As they open up their web browsers for their morning dose of news they are going to click on a story that couldn't possibly be true, the headline reads... "Same Sex Couple Makes History Winning Popular Vote in National Wedding Contest."
Some will be overjoyed with the headline, others will think it is absolutely horrible, and still others will think that this must be a fake headline because after all it is April 1! April Fools they think! But in just a couple days this could be a reality for Jonathan and Gregory who are currently in second place in Crate and Barrel's Ultimate Wedding Contest. Greg and Jonathan can possibly make history by being the first same sex couple to win a National Wedding Contest. Imagine the excitement and the outrage, and the statement for marriage equality made by simply winning.
With just 30 hours left to vote Gregory and Jonathan need 5000 votes to pull off this incredible upset. They are ahead of third place by almost 11,000 votes! This is LGBT history in the making. Gregory and Jonathan have already received endorsements from GLAAD (http://glaadblog.org/2010/03/01/crate-barrel-holds-inclusive-ultimate-wedding-contest-anti-gay-blogger-attacks/) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (http://www.thetaskforce.org/blog/20100329-tfstaff-weddingcontest). Now they just need one last push to make a difference.
Jonathan is the survivor of a violent hate crime in Boston, and after his attacker plead guilty to nine counts including civil rights violations but served no jail time Jonathan realized something needed to be done. With Gregory by his side he started speaking out about hate crime sentencing and many other LGBT issues. After moving to the District of Columbia Jonathan and Gregory joined the fight for marriage equality, and were the 20th same sex couple to apply for their marriage license in the District on March 3. Their picture from that day was even featured in the New York Times.
Gregory and Jonathan entered this contest on a whim back in February, but as the community rallied around them they realized that this was much bigger than just a wedding contest. This became an opportunity to make a huge social statement. An opportunity to be a part of history as the first same sex couple to win a mainstream wedding contest. Once Jonathan and Gregory rose to the top spot in the contest they faced attacks from anti-gay blogs, and others. After the written attacks Jonathan wrote in his blog...
There is no way that I can drop out of this competition and retreat. I cannot stop being who I am and I need to make a difference. Words are powerful, and so are actions. And just like words of hatred can have power over people, words of hope can have power over people as well. We have the power to change society, we have the power to make a difference.
We all now have the power to make a difference and make a strong statement for marriage equality. It would be great for the community to put these two in the top spot and show the nation that it does not matter if it is two men or two women. It is about love and not gender and Crate and Barrel has the ability to help make this statement.
Voting Link:
http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682
More Info:
http://www.gayultimatewedding.com
Thank You From Jonathan and Greg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmvTfiWbCpg
Less than 48 hours left! If you haven't voted please vote http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682 please forward to 5 friends. We can win!
I Had to Share
Hey all-
Happy Saturday, I hope you all had a great week. This week was amazing here in DC. For those of you who don't know, the Doctor and I went to the DADT protest held by HRC with Kathy Griffin and then we continued on to the White House where Lt Dan Choi with the help of Robin McGehee handcuffed himself to the White House fence in an act of civil disobedience.
There is a divide on this action, but I feel like it is a necessary action along with everything else that is happening. We need to stand up, speak out, and be heard in all of the arenas.
While the wedding contest may not be as powerful a message as being handcuffed to the White House fence I still feel it gives us the opportunity to send a message that we are here and we are equal. It is an opportunity to do something, and we all need to do something in order to gain our equality, we know that it will not be handed to us but that we need to fight for it.
Enough political speak from me. You have all been an amazing support please continue to be over the next 11 days and please take a second to share the link... http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682!
And if you haven't had a chance take a look at our new youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3nD-gMkepc
Love you all,
Happy Saturday, I hope you all had a great week. This week was amazing here in DC. For those of you who don't know, the Doctor and I went to the DADT protest held by HRC with Kathy Griffin and then we continued on to the White House where Lt Dan Choi with the help of Robin McGehee handcuffed himself to the White House fence in an act of civil disobedience.
There is a divide on this action, but I feel like it is a necessary action along with everything else that is happening. We need to stand up, speak out, and be heard in all of the arenas.
While the wedding contest may not be as powerful a message as being handcuffed to the White House fence I still feel it gives us the opportunity to send a message that we are here and we are equal. It is an opportunity to do something, and we all need to do something in order to gain our equality, we know that it will not be handed to us but that we need to fight for it.
Enough political speak from me. You have all been an amazing support please continue to be over the next 11 days and please take a second to share the link... http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682!
And if you haven't had a chance take a look at our new youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3nD-gMkepc
Love you all,
Ultimate Wedding Contest: Too Sweet
We got the following comment on one of our posts today. I have been really good about ignoring such comments lately, but this one sent me over the edge for some reason. And my reason is below the quote!
"I think voting has slowed because people are finding the other couple more compelling. Personally I find the gay couple too sugary sweet and a bit annoying... I'm getting sick of looking at them. Plus there's [sic] story is not that interesting. I voted for a different couple."
OK let's break this down... "I think voting has slowed because people are finding other couples more compelling..." I am fine with that, there are lots of people with some great stories in this contest. There are lots of couples with compelling stories. I am amazed at the power of love when I read these stories, and they all pull at my heartstrings. This is what the idea of the contest is, its about the story of love. I hope that our story is compelling, but if it is not the most compelling for you, then please do vote for another couple.
"...Personally I find the gay couple too sugary sweet and a bit annoying... I'm getting sick of looking at them..." Well, first off I am very sorry that you are tired of looking at us, I think we are pretty darn cute, but you don't have to enjoy looking at us, that's fine. But seriously we are too sugary sweet. This is a contest about love and winning the Ultimate Wedding. I am pretty sure that when Crate and Barrel created this contest they were looking for people who were in love, not people who hated one another. I am sure some drama would be entertaining but Greg and I truly love one another, we have been by each others sides through some difficult times, and we are looking forward to many many years together no matter what.
Are we perfect? Of course not but we work through all of that, and we are incredibly happy right now. Not only are we in second place and numerous people have voted for us but we have also applied for our marriage license (featured in the New York Times) and our community has rallied around us, supported us, and said some amazingly nice things about us. I know I should and mostly do focus on that but this one comment has gotten under my skin.
Finally, "... Plus there's [sic] story is not that interesting..." Well I am sorry that you feel our love story isn't that interesting. No neither of us are sick at the moment, but we have overcome tremendous obstacles. I never really featured the hate crime in my story because I wanted to focus on the strength of the love that we had. I had 100 words and I wanted them to be about love, not about hate. But our love has overcome this hate and we have done it together, we have done it with the support of the community, and we will continue to do it. I hope that I will never again be bleeding on the street as a man stomps my head into the pavement screaming "die faggot die." But unfortunately I can't promise that this won't happen to me or any other person who is looked at as different.
What I can do however is stand up an openly share my story, I can become a public figure and I can speak out. This contest has given us the opportunity to talk about the hatred I have faced, and talk about getting married. It is not a political contest but it gives us all another venue to make a statement.
I applaud all of the couples who have entered this contest, they all have great compelling stories. Please support them and vote for them, and share the stories. It shows that love is alive in this country and that love can overcome many obstacles. I hope that you find our story compelling, and I hope this post isn't too sugary sweet. If you do find our story compelling please share this post and vote at
http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682
"I think voting has slowed because people are finding the other couple more compelling. Personally I find the gay couple too sugary sweet and a bit annoying... I'm getting sick of looking at them. Plus there's [sic] story is not that interesting. I voted for a different couple."
OK let's break this down... "I think voting has slowed because people are finding other couples more compelling..." I am fine with that, there are lots of people with some great stories in this contest. There are lots of couples with compelling stories. I am amazed at the power of love when I read these stories, and they all pull at my heartstrings. This is what the idea of the contest is, its about the story of love. I hope that our story is compelling, but if it is not the most compelling for you, then please do vote for another couple.
"...Personally I find the gay couple too sugary sweet and a bit annoying... I'm getting sick of looking at them..." Well, first off I am very sorry that you are tired of looking at us, I think we are pretty darn cute, but you don't have to enjoy looking at us, that's fine. But seriously we are too sugary sweet. This is a contest about love and winning the Ultimate Wedding. I am pretty sure that when Crate and Barrel created this contest they were looking for people who were in love, not people who hated one another. I am sure some drama would be entertaining but Greg and I truly love one another, we have been by each others sides through some difficult times, and we are looking forward to many many years together no matter what.
Are we perfect? Of course not but we work through all of that, and we are incredibly happy right now. Not only are we in second place and numerous people have voted for us but we have also applied for our marriage license (featured in the New York Times) and our community has rallied around us, supported us, and said some amazingly nice things about us. I know I should and mostly do focus on that but this one comment has gotten under my skin.
Finally, "... Plus there's [sic] story is not that interesting..." Well I am sorry that you feel our love story isn't that interesting. No neither of us are sick at the moment, but we have overcome tremendous obstacles. I never really featured the hate crime in my story because I wanted to focus on the strength of the love that we had. I had 100 words and I wanted them to be about love, not about hate. But our love has overcome this hate and we have done it together, we have done it with the support of the community, and we will continue to do it. I hope that I will never again be bleeding on the street as a man stomps my head into the pavement screaming "die faggot die." But unfortunately I can't promise that this won't happen to me or any other person who is looked at as different.
What I can do however is stand up an openly share my story, I can become a public figure and I can speak out. This contest has given us the opportunity to talk about the hatred I have faced, and talk about getting married. It is not a political contest but it gives us all another venue to make a statement.
I applaud all of the couples who have entered this contest, they all have great compelling stories. Please support them and vote for them, and share the stories. It shows that love is alive in this country and that love can overcome many obstacles. I hope that you find our story compelling, and I hope this post isn't too sugary sweet. If you do find our story compelling please share this post and vote at
http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682
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