For Immediate Release: September 12, 2011 Media Contacts: Sean Watkins 937-286-7757 swatkins3457@gmail.

com Tom Morgan 614-736-0757 tb614@aol.com GetEQUAL OH to Protest LGBT Inequalities at Speaker Boehners Office WEST CHESTER, OH -- GetEQUAL Ohio -- a statewide grassroots civil rights organization fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality -- will stage a protest at Speaker of the House John Boehners West Chester offices at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13. GetEQUAL Ohio will be protesting the Speakers recent decision to triple the budget for defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- the law that prevents same-sex marriages from being recognized at the federal level. This protest will highlight the gross mismanagement of taxpayer money to defend a law that the President and the Attorney General have deemed unconstitutional, especially at a time when the economy is in a state of emergency. WHO: GetEQUAL Ohio, a statewide grassroots civil rights organization fighting for LGBT equality WHAT: Activists will be staging a protest at Speaker Boehners office to highlight his decision to use taxpayer money to fund bigotry WHEN: 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13 WHERE: Outside Speaker Boehners West Chester office, 7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road Last week, House Republicans modified the legal contract with Paul Clement at Bancroft PLLC, a Bush-era former Solicitor General who signed the contract after another firm, King & Spaulding, elected not to take the case. Speaker Boehner is overseeing the defense of DOMA in several court cases across the country following a decision by Attorney General Eric Holder that his office could no longer defend the law in court, finding it unconstitutional at its base. (Citation can be found at http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/boehner_triples_possible_doma _legal_tab_to_15_mill.php.) Tom Morgan, lead organizer for GetEQUAL Ohio, says, "We are here to protest the Speaker's decision to triple the budget to defend DOMA, a decision that is based on bigotry, not on the U.S. Constitution. At a time when the Speaker is constantly harping against excessive government spending, this move is purely motivated by politics and does not reflect the will of the American people. Speaker Boehner, do not waste our money on bigotry!"

The fact that Speaker Boehner has chosen to use taxpayer money to continue to deny same-sex partners the civil right of marriage -- especially at a time when the majority of our country is in favor of marriage equality -- is despicable and is blatantly discriminatory, says Sean Watkins, an organizer with GetEQUAL Ohio. " We cannot allow our elected officials to continue to deny American citizens the civil rights promised to us in the U.S. Constitution!" GetEQUAL is a national, direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. Emphasizing direct action and people power, the mission of GetEQUAL is to empower the LGBT community and its allies to take action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information on GetEQUAL, please visit: http://www.getequal.org. You can follow GetEQUAL on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/getequal, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GetEQUAL, or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/getequal. ###