An army for equality is forming. It's happening because ordinary people are standing up to fight for the most fundamental premise of this country: that all people are equal. That everyone is entitled to their beliefs, but nobody can be forced to share those beliefs. That as Quakers say in their traditional welcome:

We will not defer to thee in opinion or ask thee to defer to us. What thou thinketh ye shall say, if ye wish, without giving offense. What we think, we also say, believing that truth hath many aspects, and that love is large enough to encompass them all.

That love is large enough to encompass them all.

More than 275,000 people have signed the Courage Campaign pledge to repeal Proposition 8. A group larger than Buffalo or St. Paul. This past weekend, pure grassroots energy and organizing generated 100,000 people in all 50 states and 8 countries standing up for equality; coming together and pledging their commitment to the notion that love is large enough to encompass all aspects of truth.

Rick Jacobs emailed supporters earlier today giving a more in depth rundown of the amazing organic activism springing up all over the country around this issue. And he helped lay out a course forward:

"The Courage Campaign (which does MoveOn-style organizing in California) is working with other groups to overturn Prop 8 in the 2010 election. That'll take a huge grassroots mobilization, starting now--and to succeed, they'll need an army of us fighting together to win marriage equality for all." -- Wes Boyd and Joan Blades, MoveOn.org Political Action

The numbers are mind-blowing.

350 cities. 50 states. 8 countries. More than 100,000 people around the world.

That's what "Join the Impact" -- an organic bottom-up, internet-driven campaign to protest Prop 8 -- organized in just one week, mobilizing people around the world last Saturday in their communities to support marriage equality.

275,547 people.

That's how many people have joined you in signing the pledge to "Repeal Prop 8," launched by the Courage Campaign and joined by our friends at CREDO Mobile and MoveOn.

The larger this movement grows, the sooner marriage equality will be restored to California.

Please help us build this movement by forwarding this email to your social networks -- your family, friends and neighbors. Then click on the following page to see how many new people have taken the pledge. We'll be updating the total number of signers frequently over the next 48 hours:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/RepealProp8

We are witnessing the birth of a new Marriage Equality Movement -- the civil rights movement of the 21st Century. Organized from the bottom-up by thousands of ordinary people just like you in the aftermath of the passage of Prop 8, this people-powered phenomenon is exponentially growing by the minute, online and offline.

But it will take a long-term, sustainable grassroots movement -- neighbors talking to neighbors across California -- to make marriage equality history. As Becky Bond, CREDO Mobile Political Director, said when CREDO announced its support of the "Repeal Prop 8" campaign:

We are joining our allies at the Courage Campaign by pledging to stand up for the rights of every Californian. We will put pressure on legal entities to join this fight. We will shine a spotlight on the public figures who stand against us as well as those who stand with us...

275,547 people are standing strong together -- gay and straight -- against Prop 8. Now, we need your help to expand this movement into every community in California. Please forward this message to at least five of your friends and ask them to join you in pledging to repeal Prop 8. Then click here to see frequent updates on how many new signers have taken the pledge:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/RepealProp8

This Marriage Equality Movement is capturing the attention of people across America, from the thousands of people who have never participated in a march before to the numerous organizations now vowing to leverage their resources to repeal Prop 8.

If we can build the kind of people-powered campaign that lifted President-elect Barack Obama into the White House, together, we can restore marriage equality to California.

Thank you for doing everything you can to change California and our country.

Rick Jacobs
Chair