Freedom to Marry supporters thank Senator Mikulski

Freedom to Marry's Federal Director Jo Deutsch delivers nearly 3,000 signatures to Senator Mikulski's office

Last week, we were happy to announce that Senator Barbara Mikulski from Maryland signed on as the 30th Senate cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, the bill that will overturn DOMA. Mikulski's decision to cosponsor came days after our Federal Director Jo Deutsch dropped off nearly 3,000 signatures from Freedom to Marry, Equality Maryland, and Courage Campaign members urging the Senator to sign on. 

We let our Maryland members know the good news right after Senator Mikulski signed on, and it was clear that Maryland residents were proud of their senior Senator! In 24 hours, nearly 600 of our members in Maryland sent Senator Mikulski a thank you note, many of them including heartfelt personal messages explaining why the Senator's support of the Respect for Marriage Act is important to Maryland families. Here is just a sampling of the personal messages that our members sent:

 "Thank you so much Senator for co-sponsoring this bill.  You do not know how much this really means to not only me and my future husband, who I hope to marry in Maryland once the state passes the marriage equality bill, but also the thousands of other LGBT families in our state!  Thank you!" -Sean from Anne Arundel County

"This year on June 10 my Partner, Barbara and I celebrated our 39/1 year anniversary.  We have been together 39 years, and married (in Washington DC) one year.  We have raised 3 children together.  Thank you for sponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act.  We are a family, and we would like the government to treat us as one!" -Carol from Baltimore 

"Thank you so much for co-sponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act bill.  Because of fair minded people like yourself, my family and I are one step closer to being recognized as a true American family. Thank you." -Shelley from Frederick County

"Your principled decision to co-sponsor the Respect of Marriage Act reinforces my belief that Maryland is fortunate to have you as one of its senators.  Thank you for your courage to represent all of your constituents." -Stanley from Prince George's County

Our Federal Director Jo will personally deliver these thank you letters to Senator Mikulski's DC office this week. It's crucial that we show our allies that we appreciate their support, which is exactly what Freedom to Marry members in Maryland have done in the past few days.

If you're a Marylander, sign our thank you card to Senator Mikulski.

If you aren't a Marylander, urge your elected officials to follow Senator Mikulski's example and cosponsor the Respect for Marriage Act. Click here to take action.