FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kylie@RainbowLaw.com
(716) 435-0965
(800) 891-8189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kylie@RainbowLaw.com
(716) 435-0965 (800) 891-8189
February 5, 2004
The 2004 Rainbow Ride Across America - An Awareness Campaign
for Equal Civil Marriage Rights Equal civil marriage rights is a hot issue in this
presidential election year and courts and legislatures have passed so many
conflicting state marriage laws it makes your head spin! This week alone, the Massachusetts Supreme Court determined
that anything less that equal marriage for same-sex partners is a violation of
that state's equal protection rights and Ohio's legislature passed the most
restrictive ban on equal marriage rights to date. As a reaction to Federal and State court decisions granting
equal protections to same-sex couples, George W. Bush and other Republican
leaders are gearing up to "protect and defend the sanctity of marriage" with a
constitutional amendment that would deny equal marriage rights to gay and
lesbians Americans. Amid all this hoopla, a couple of lesbian grandmas are
quietly preparing to embark on a cross-country bicycle ride, the 2004 Rainbow
Ride Across America, to educate and inform Americans about the injustice and
harm caused to gay and lesbian families when they are denied equal protections
under the law. Carrie & Elisia Ross-Stone are civil rights activists and
lesbian life partners with three children and a grandson. On May 1, 2004, in San
Francisco California, they will begin their second Rainbow Ride, cycling 3800
miles to Rehoboth Beach Delaware. As they ride across the central US, the couple
will stop in towns and cities to talk about equal civil marriage rights and weed
out fact from fiction. As of this writing, they plan to visit the following
cities: Apr 30 & May 1 -- San Francisco, CA May 8 -- Reno, NV May 15 -- Salt Lake City, UT May 22 -- Denver, CO May 23 --
Colorado Springs, CO May 29 -- Kansas City, KS June 5 -- St. Louis, MO June 12 -- Springfield, IL June 19 -- Indianapolis, IN June 26 -- Columbus, OH July 3 & 4 -- Pittsburgh, PA July 10 -- New York, NY July 17 -- Rehoboth Beach, DE July 26 -- Washington DC The purpose of the ride is twofold. First, a couple of
grandmothers riding bicycles across the country gets attention and provides an
opportunity to talk about why we need marriage equality. Second, Carrie & Elisia
represent a true example of a "traditional American Family" who deserve to be
treated with dignity and respect as does every other gay and lesbian family in
the US. If you are interested in learning more about the 2004 Rainbow
Ride Across America, or if you want to help to organize an event or become a
sponsor, please visit
Carrie Ross-Stone, J.D. and Elisia Ross-Stone, R.N., are LGBT civil rights activists. They own and operate Rainbow Law, an Estate Planning education and information service designed for the LGBT community. Stone and Ross organized the Get All Your Ducks in a Row Campaign to promote LGBT equality and are recipients of OUT Magazine’s OUT 100 award for their contribution to the LGBT community. They were recently named Incredible Parents by And Baby Magazine.
