Thanks Karen Ocamb for sending us this piece, originally posted at LGBT POV!

While so much attention has been paid to President Obama’s foot-dragging in Washington, the national march that brought ten of thousands (organizers say up to 150,000) to the steps of the Capitol in DC,  and the campaign in Maine to retain marriage (especially by folks in California who are reminded how this antigay battle is the East Coast version of our battle over Prop 8 last year) – there is another important campaign happening is the OTHER Washington – the fight to retain their Domestic Partnership law. One way the ApproveRef71 campaign hopes to raise money and spread the word is by having regular LGBT people and allies produce their own videos and shoot them around to friends, family, co-workers so more people become aware of the importance of this fight. Joe Mirabella and Joe Brokken are just regular gay guys who love each other. They’ve been together for six years and are domestic partners in the state of Washington. It’s not marriage – but hey, having some protections and recognition for your relationship is WAY better than having to save or dredge up the money for a lawyer to work out a formal legal agreement that will satisfy the conservative right wing. As if that would ever happen, anyway. But a clinical private legal contract between two emotionless signatures is what “the two Joes” would have to resort to – if they could afford it – if the right wing wins in Washington and takes away their domestic partnerships. Says Joe Mirabella:

This election is too close to take anyone for granted. We must not only come out to our friends and family, we must share with them how important equal protection under the law is for us. I invite you to use social media, such as Facebook, to speak directly to your network. Remind them to vote approved on referendum 71 to keep domestic partnerships.

In this short video, the two Joes explain how to do that: (more…)