Equality California event raises money, awareness
Heather Muller, The Eureka Reporter
February 20, 2006
 
Close to 200 people came out Saturday night for a fundraiser in Arcata to benefit Equality California, or EQCA, a statewide gay-rights organization engaged in a well-orchestrated campaign to legalize same-sex marriage.

The event — cosponsored by the Green Party, the Humboldt Democratic Central Committee, Queer Humboldt, and the Humboldt chapter of EQCA — raised an estimated $10,000 to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender causes.

Held at the D Street Neighborhood Center, the fundraiser was attended by Senator Wes Chesbro and Assemblywoman Patty Berg, along with a number of local city and county politicos. Clergy from three local churches also were present.

Chesbro, who spoke at the event, said that as a man raised in the church he was “sick and tired of hearing that in the name of compassion and love we should treat each other as less than equal.”

Patty Berg spoke next, saying that in 20 years she has never lost her commitment to gay and lesbian rights.

If same-sex marriage is legalized, Berg said, “the sky will not fall, the earth will not shatter, and we will not be doomed to hell and damnation. . . . What will happen is we will become a kinder and more just society.”

Berg added, “There’s nothing equal about rights that are given to some and not to others.”

But Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, said through a spokesperson that marriage between a man and a woman is a “beautiful and exclusive institution that has benefited children and society for time immemorial.”

Thomasson added, “With left-wing judges, state legislators and gay activists now preparing to destroy this sacred institution, the only option is for California voters to rise up and actively support the VoteYesMarriage.com amendment to permanently protect marriage in the state constitution.”

But during Berg’s speech, she spoke emotionally about the death of her late husband Patrick, and said she could not fathom how the union of any other loving couple could undermine the relationship she had with him.

“They say we have to protect marriage,” Berg said. “Protect it from what?”

Arcata City Councilman Paul Pitino said he attended the event to show his support and to accept a certificate of appreciation from EQCA on behalf of the city of Arcata.

The award was presented in recognition of the council’s “visionary leadership and commitment to ending marriage discrimination against same-sex couples,” according to the certificate.

“I support anything that includes everybody having equal rights,” Pitino said. “It feels like it’s the right thing to do. It demonstrates being inclusive, and I think that’s important.”