In the weeks following the Supreme Court’s ruling on DOMA and Proposition 8, member groups across the nation have held statewide celebratory rallies in response to these historic decisions. But Federation member organization Equality Alabama went one step further, holding a Marriage Town Hall Meeting focused on shedding some light on what the Court’s rulings mean for residents of Alabama.

The Marriage Town Hall was an opportunity for Equality Alabama to partner with the ACLU of Alabama and the Alliance for LGBT Equality at the University of Alabama - Birmingham to help educate members about how the Court’s rulings might affect their lives. The new director of the ACLU of Alabama, Susan Watson, was the featured speaker, with Equality Alabama’s Fergus Tuohy and Sarah Young also making comments during the meeting.

We were able to catch up with Michael Hansen, Equality Alabama’s Communications Director, to hear more about this successful event.

Equality Federation: What was discussed at the Marriage Town Hall Meeting? What was the outcome?
Michael Hansen of Equality Alabama: Susan gave a thorough presentation about the history of both cases, U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. She also brought educational materials from the national ACLU about what the decisions mean for legally married couples on a host of issues, from Social Security benefits to taxes to veteran’s benefits.

Several attendees had questions, of course, so Susan opened the floor to discussion. A lively conversation ensued, with questions from many who were already married or engaged to their partners. Additionally, Patricia Todd — the first openly gay elected official in Alabama — and Valerie Abbott — a member of Birmingham City Council — were in the crowd, which drew a number of questions from attendees about everything from strategic planning to anti-discrimination laws.

EF: What steps did you take to make this such a successful event?
MH: It was a team effort. Partnering with the ACLU afforded us credibility and issue knowledge. Co-sponsoring the event with the Alliance at UAB allowed us not only access to a state-of-the-art facility on the university’s campus but also helped raise the profile of the event among younger stakeholders.

EF: How were you able to mobilize your base of supporters to achieve such a large turnout?
MH: We relied on a combination of traditional and new media to get the word out. We heavily promoted the event on Facebook and created a hashtag in advance to use for live-tweeting the presentation and to answer questions from the Twitterverse. We also reached out to our membership base via email to help spread the word about the event itself and the live tweeting.

EF: How does this event fit into the overall work you are doing at Equality Alabama?
MH: Equality Alabama is striving to reinvent itself. The organization fell on tough times in the last five years, but we are on the rebound, thanks in large part to timing of things like the Supreme Court rulings. We’re in the middle of a rebranding effort, but our core goals remain the same: to educate and advocate for full equality of all Alabamians. The Marriage Town Hall was a nice combination of education — “What do the decisions mean for Alabama?” — and advocacy — “What can I do to advance equality here?”

We’re developing new programs like a toolkit for schools and school districts, an online directory of LGBTQ-friendly businesses, anti-discrimination model policies for municipalities to consider, and so on. The more we can establish ourselves as a credible organization for education and advocacy, the more effective we will be at it.

EF: What future events can we expect to see from Equality Alabama?
MH: We’re currently planning a family picnic later this summer. Think Southern-style family reunion at the park. We hope to unveil the new Alabama Rainbow Pages, the online directory I just mentioned, at the picnic. It’ll be a sort of Angie’s list for LGBTQ people in Alabama.

We’ll also be reintroducing our flagship fundraiser, “Day of Equality,” which historically has consisted of an array of activities, including educational workshops, lobbying efforts, policy debates, media training, and a black tie dinner. Hopefully, we will announce something about the future of that event very soon!

Congratulations to Fergus Tuohy, Sarah Young, Michael Hansen, and the entire Equality Alabama team for their amazing event – and thanks for sharing your story!