Freedom to Marry celebrates national victory with NYC event

Tonight, Thursday, July 9, Freedom to Marry will host a Celebration Event in response to the United States Supreme Court's historic ruling last month that brought the freedom to marry to the entire nation, effectively representing the culmination of Freedom to Marry's work as an organization. It will be the biggest celebratory event honoring marriage nationwide and a “going out of business” party for Freedom to Marry, which was founded in 2003 and is the largest national organization dedicated to winning marriage for same-sex couples.

The event will include performances by Tony Award-winning singer and actor Lena Hall and multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen. Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime supporter of the freedom to marry, will deliver remarks during the program. Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the President, will also be in attendance.

Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the President, is also a strong supporter of the freedom to marry. In April, Jarrett attended Freedom to Marry's Plaintiff Event, which celebrated all of the families in legal cases that made the freedom to marry across the nation possible. While at the event, she applauded everyone who worked tirelessly to make this a possibility:

"I know that you have to put your lives on hold for something that's not just going to benefit you, but benefit so many other people, and so, on behalf of the millions of people around the country and around the world who your leadership symbolizes, thank you! Tomorrow we will watch a historic moment, and that history would not be possible without all of you. In our country we should be able to love anyone we want. The world is watching. We all need equal opportunity in this country, and we are all in this together."

Carly Rae Jepsen has been a supporter for LGBT rights for some time. In 2013, Jepsen canceled her performance at the Boy Scouts of America in response to their stance on banning gay members from joining. In addition, in a Time interview in 2012, Jepsen responded to a question about gay rights by saying "You know, acceptance has never even been a question to me. I’ve grown up knowing it’s just the way things should be."

Joe Biden will be presenting remarks on the freedom to marry, building on his long record of supporting marriage for all loving, committed couples. Read more about Joe Biden's history supporting LGBT rights here.

Lena Hall is also a supporter of the freedom to marry, joining hundreds of thousands of Americans who celebrated the Supreme Court's ruling with #lovewins.

Freedom to Marry is delighted to be finally celebrating this long-awaited and triumphant victory -- for us as well as for all of America.