Speed of Life

  Happy Pride Month! On June 26, 2015 Marriage Equality became the law of the land. With hundreds of others I celebrated on the Supreme Court steps because the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, making marriage equality legal, granting due process and equal protection to hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples. Later that glorious day, I chatted with President Obama’s official photographer Pete Souza in front of the White House which was lit up in rainbow colors in celebration of the LGBTQ community. While we watched, the Presidential Marine Corps unit arrived. Onboard was President Obama returning from his moving speech at the memorial service for the church folks who were gunned down by a young white supremacist in South Carolina. President Obama sang "Amazing Grace" that day. Arrivals and departures… Gregg Chadwick Arrivals and Departures (June 26, 2015)  48”x36” oil on linen #art   #contemporaryart   #HappyPride   #Pride...

What a sweet moment! 🥹 @POTUS gave @VP Harris the pen he used to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law. 📸: Kent Nishimura pic.twitter.com/L5mgzDjYR2 — best of kamala harris (@archivekamala) December 13, 2022 It was great to be at the White House to celebrate the Respect for Marriage Act being signed into law by @POTUS ! I’m happy that the hard work and long hours of bipartisan negotiation have finally paid off for the millions of loving same-sex & interracial couples across America. pic.twitter.com/BrnxtnYAxw — Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) December 13, 2022 Who woulda thought the gayest party I’ve ever been to was at the White House? Thank you @POTUS for signing the Respect for Marriage Act! #LoveIsLove 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/EA1rdoAxXt — Jeremy Moss (@JeremyAllenMoss) December 13, 2022 A beautiful day to witness and celebrate @POTUS signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law! 🏳️‍🌈 A special shout-out to my friend @SenatorBaldwin...

@kamalaharris at her best. (Which is very, very good.) https://t.co/gP9f5mNrXk — David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) October 11, 2019 Love Is Love!

Happy IDAHOBIT 2017 ! The international day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia. # LoveIsLove as people join together to take a stand against prejudice. I remember standing outside the White House on the day that Marriage Equality was declared by the Supreme Court and the beauty of that storied house lit up in the colors of the LGBT flag.   "Today, I ask Canadians and people around the world to fight hatred, honour love, and defend human rights for everyone.” #IDAHOT #loveislove pic.twitter.com/orJMQR5846 — CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) May 17, 2017 Gregg Chadwick Arrivals and Departures (Charlotte to D.C. - June 26, 2015) 48"x36" oil on linen 2015-2016 

Communicating the loss of a loved one is never easy. It is best done in person but words alone can also provide light in a difficult time. With deep sadness I have to send  on  news about the death of our beloved family member Hannah Johnson. Hannah passed away Sunday night in a traffic accident, and her husband Matt is fighting for his life in a hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. ( Update on Hannah's Husband Matt:  Matt is coherent, awake, conversant and stood up today!!) Hannah believed deeply that all are created equal and that we all deserve an equal share of human rights. Hannah worked tirelessly for marriage equality in California and New Jersey.  Pictured in this New York Times photo from 2009 is my courageous family member Hannah Johnson tearing up as she applauds a New Jersey Senate committee vote on a bill to legalize gay marriage.  The struggle continues in New Jersey and in California photo  by Richard Perry / New Yor...

In this moving, much watch video, shot in February 2011, Zach Wahls - a 19-year-old University of Iowa student - addresses a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa. The fight to to keep marriage equality continues in Iowa and across the country! Above is Talking With's interview with Mr. Wahls in which Zach speaks about what it was like growing up with two mothers, what led him to decide to go and speak before the House of Representatives, how his life has changed after this speech thrust him into the public eye, and what other young people can do to fight for equality and speak out against intolerance. Thanks to Talking With for the comment and link!

photo by Richard Perry / New York Times Pictured in this New York Times photo from 2009 is my courageous family member Hannah Johnson tearing up as she applauds a New Jersey Senate committee vote on a bill to legalize gay marriage. The bill passed a committee vote but stalled in the Senate. The struggle continues in New Jersey and in California. (San Francisco, CA, August 16, 2010) — Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Proposition 8 proponents’ motion to stay U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision, which means that same-sex couples in California will not be able to marry while the case is on appeal. However, the Ninth Circuit put the appeal on a fast track and specifically directed that the Prop 8 proponents address "why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing” in their opening brief. ________________________________________ Statement on the from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell ”Every additional day that couples must...