At a recent forum on marriage equality in San Francisco, after listening to ideas for what to do that ranged from having a "die-in" at St. Mary's Cathedral to doing outreach in Spanish and other languages, Molly McKay, media director for forum co-sponsor Marriage Equality USA, cheerily offered some advice:

"If you have a good idea, fuckin' do it!"

Many have felt the No on 8 campaign was unresponsive to new ideas, and McKay has said she wants the process to be more democratic.

Since Proposition 8 passed more than a month ago, eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry in California, groups and individuals have emerged online and in the streets to urge its repeal.

What may be one of the most promising ideas discussed at the forum is a Web platform that's still in the earliest stages of being formed, but could serve as a central hub for activity, helping people gather and distribute information, events, and services.

This Saturday, December 13, there will be a meeting at 2 p.m. at Citizen Space, 425 2nd Street, Number 300. According to Mariva H. Aviram, one of the participants, the meeting is for people willing to contribute their technological skills or ideas.

The meeting is a follow-up to a summit on Tuesday, December 2, when about 25 gathered in person or over the phone for a meeting at the Palo Alto home of Naomi Fine, an out lesbian who's president and CEO of Pro-Tec Data. Fine founded the firm in 1985 to help companies manage and protect confidential information and intellectual property.

Fine, who called the meeting "a good conversation starter," said, "I came up with the idea of a tech summit because I see there are tremendous opportunities to link the various online resources for marriage equality, and I didn't see that that linking existed."

Fine wouldn't say exactly who was part of the meeting, but said there were people who work at companies like Google and Yahoo, and others from organizations such as Equality California and Marriage Equality USA, as well as some philanthropists.

"I am hoping that we can work together to create an online presence that makes it easy ... to understand what the opportunities are for getting involved in marriage equality," said Fine.

Ideas

Referring to all the grassroots groups and initiatives that have emerged since the November 4 election, Fine said, "My goal is to enable those initiatives to be even more successful." Fine said the idea isn't "intended in any way to limit them or curtail them. In fact, we hope it will make for a fertile topsoil in which these technologies can grow."

She said a platform could help people leverage resources available. For example, Fine, who's involved with the Peninsula Marriage Equality Coalition, said a volunteer put together a registration page for their town hall meetings. Fine indicated she'd like to be able to share things like the program itself and the identity of the volunteer who developed it.

In addition to sharing technology experts, Fine said it'd also be useful to provide access to people who can help with everything from fundraising and communications to developing videos for YouTube.

Aviram, a straight ally who was at the December 2 meeting, has authored books like XML for Dummies: Quick Reference , writes Mariva's Guide ( www.mariva.com) and is working on recruiting people from the technology field to get involved.

Aviram said one goal for the Web site would be "to bridge the digital divide" between those who have easy access to technology and those who often don't.

Aviram said one idea would be to establish a speakers bureau so that communities that may not be as connected as others, such as communities of color and people in rural areas, could post a request for help, or if someone saw there was a need in a particular place, they could put out a request for someone to go speak there.

"This could be a way to get people to talk face to face in a setting they feel more comfortable in," said Aviram.

It's too soon to talk about raising money for the project, Fine said. As a philanthropist herself, she said "we haven't defined yet what it is we need" and she would not be willing "to consider a proposal for funding at this stage of development."

"We are nowhere near ready," said Fine.

However, she said though she went into the meeting at her home questioning, in her mind, if this would be something of value, the answer seemed to be a resounding "yes."

"I have a very full-time day job," said Fine. "I only would be interested in doing this if I thought it would have significant value."

Matt Baume, who currently works for Star Wars creator George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd. but is involved in the marriage equality movement as an individual, was also at the meeting at Fine's house.

Baume, who's gay, is behind the Web site http://www.Stop8.org, which started during efforts to defeat Prop 8. Before the election the site consisted mainly of videos of same-sex couples telling their stories and urging people to vote no on Prop 8. The site has been updated to include links to a wide variety of blogs, newspapers, and other media; and information on where people can go to get involved in the movement.

At the December 2 meeting, Baume presented a slide show with some ideas for the portal, such as how to help organizations share plans and get feedback online. He said it was a conversation starter, rather than a template, that he copied from pre-existing Web sites such as My Barack Obama (http://www.mybarackobama.com), a site that many in the movement admire for the way it made it easier for people to participate in Obama's successful presidential campaign.

Baume said it's too soon to say when the portal might appear, but he talked about the possibility of a site where individual volunteers and large organizations would have different layers.

Building something like that would likely be a slow, gradual process, and when the site finally does start to appear, it might be geared to just one layer to start out with.

"You're not going to see it all at once," said Baume.

When people talk about key organizers lately, they often mention Amy Balliett, an out lesbian from Seattle and creator of Join the Impact, a group that's used the Internet to organize events like the anti-Prop 8 protests that took place across the country November 15.

"With [Join the Impact's] platform, hundreds of thousands of people a day jump online and share their ideas for making an impact," Balliett wrote in an e-mail. "They also all contribute to the very important conversation of equality. Light Up the Night for Equal Rights (on December 20) was an idea brought to us by one of our members. ... I believe that it is hugely necessary for a central hub for the organizations and different groups. I would participate in a heartbeat [in the platform mentioned at San Francisco's forum] and have been participating in the various ones that have sprung up. We, as grassroots organizations, need to utilize all means of communication to ensure that we continue this fight as one unified movement."

The forum

Jo Hoenninger, an out lesbian lawyer who's on the board of MEUSA, was at last Thursday's forum in San Francisco.

"Please don't wait for somebody else to lead, we've already done that," Hoenninger told others at the forum, which was attended by about 85 people.

Hoenninger, who told the Bay Area Reporter she'd spoken at the forum as an individual, said the rallies that have happened since Prop 8 passed "are all fine, but the rallies aren't going to be changing people's minds about marriage," and it's important to talk to people that one might not normally talk to on an individual level.

Equality California, one of the groups that led the No on 8 campaign, has not yet had its own town hall to review what happened before the election.

Geoff Kors, Equality California's executive director, told the B.A.R. that he'd repeatedly offered to appear at forums organized by MEUSA, but that MEUSA had declined his offers. Kors said EQCA's Jim Carroll attended the forum December 6. Carroll said discussion at the meeting was "productive and healthy."

In an e-mail, McKay, MEUSA's media director, wrote that Kors was told he should put his local counterparts in touch with local organizers to help with events in areas where town halls were being organized.

"We wanted each town hall to be a reflection and 'hands on' project of local community organizers – this was a time for state leaders to listen to the grassroots community, not a panel discussion," wrote McKay.

She wrote various EQCA staff and board members participated in several of the forums.

"Geoff was welcome to have attended," wrote McKay.

An Equality Summit is tentatively scheduled for January 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Los Angeles. Kors said the venue is being finalized.

The summit, which so far involves dozens of organizations, is an opportunity for people who have been involved and want to continue their involvement, or who want to start participating, in the campaign for marriage equality to share information and resources; and to network, organize, and plan next steps. This meeting will likely followed by regional meetings.

Kors wrote that once a venue and agenda are finalized, "we will look into a way for people to participate who cannot attend in person."

People interested in participating in the summit or helping plan it can e-mail mailto:anne@eqca.org.

McKay told the B.A.R. last week that 700 people have completed an online survey about Prop 8 and the future of the marriage equality movement. She said the survey responses and community input from the forums will be compiled and made available in one document. Something should be available by mid-January, she said.

Kors said the No on 8 campaign will have an evaluation, which he said he's committed to sharing with the community. Kors said the decision on whether to share the evaluation will be made by the 18-member No on 8 executive committee, but he'll advocate for making it public and, he wrote in an e-mail, "I believe that will be what happens."

Asked about the possibility of an evaluation that's made public but includes redactions, Kors wrote, "If there is something that we are advised would provide a strategic advantage to the other side if it is shared or raise legal issues – and I am unaware of what those would be – we can deal with that, but I don't think there are things from an analysis of what happened with the No on 8 campaign that should not be shared with the community. It is critical that we are transparent so we all can learn from this so we win any future campaign."

Marriage equality events coming up in December include the following:

Sunday, December 14

And Marriage for All; Bishop Yvette Flunder, senior pastor of City of Refuge and United Church of Christ; and others are sponsoring "What God has Joined Together: Hope for All Families," an ecumenical celebration and evening of healing, affirmation and hope for LGBT families and friends presented by diverse faith leaders. 4 to 7 p.m, Historic Sweets Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland. Spanish translation available. For more information, contact And Marriage for All's Andrea Shorter at (415) 786-7779.

Saturday, December 20

During "Light Up The Night For Equality," candlight vigils will be held at commercial centers in cities across the country. People are encouraged to wear "2nd Class Citizen" shirts and join silently in Union Square with candles – and without signs and posters. 5 to 9 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=48305697703.