Dear friends –
Notorious French anti-gay group "Manif pour tous" is haunting the streets of Paris again.Organisers claim that more than 200,000 people joined their march against marriage equality two weeks ago.
Marriage equality passed in France in 2013, but Manif pour tous is back with a vengeance… and a real chance to turn back the clock on equality.
Ahead of the presidential election, they’re lobbying high profile politicians to roll back same-sex marriage and take children away from same-sex couples. They’re even infiltrating other countries. The president of the group, Ludovine de la Rochère, hasjoined forces with a huge coalition against equal marriage in Latin America.
We haven’t come this far in the fight for equality to let the bigots and homophobes turn back the clock. When Manif pour tous comes out swinging, it’s going to be a long battle to protect the rights of same-sex couples and their kids and to ensure that love really wins in France.
Equality Champions and their ongoing support enable us to run long-term campaigns that are so critical to this fight. Because Manif pour tous won’t be defeated in a day or two.
Their new slogan is "In 2017, I’ll vote for family." Manif pour tous will pull out all the stops to convince politicians and voters that "pro-family" and "anti-LGBT" are one and the same.
We’ve seen this hate group mobilise before. In 2013, hundreds of thousands of marchers protested against marriage equality in Paris. For months, we witnessed a hateful debate lead to a rise in homophobic attacks, like the brutal beating of Wilfred de Bruijn and his boyfriend who were attacked on the streets of Paris.
But thousands of All Out members helped combat this hate with an unbelievable show of solidarity. Marriage equality demonstrations in 16 cities and the support of 326,000 people from around the world helped build the critical momentum needed for marriage equality to pass.
With Equality Champions like you on our side, we can stop Manif pour tous from turning back the clock. We can show the world that LGBT families deserve respect, dignity, and love. We can stop those who want to take away the rights we have fought so hard to win.
Thanks for going All Out,Matt Beard, Executive Director
