NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, Jan. 07, 2003                        

FREE STATE JUSTICE
Contact: Dan Furmansky, Executive Director
Phone:    Office 410-685-6567
Cell    301-461-4900
Email:    dan@equalitymaryland.org

FREE STATE JUSTICE AWARDED $12,000 GRANT BY COLORADO-BASED GILL FOUNDATION TO PROMOTE MARRIAGE EQUALITY DIALOGUE

LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP TO ADVOCATE IN RURAL MARYLAND COMMUNITIES

BALTIMORE - Free State Justice, Maryland's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, announced today it has received a $12,000 grant from the Colorado-based Gill Foundation to support the group's education and grassroots efforts in rural Maryland.  

"We are incredibly thankful to the Gill Foundation for providing Free State Justice's Educational Foundation with the resources necessary to further our education on marriage equality," said executive director Dan Furmansky.   "Our goal is to develop a statewide grassroots network of well-informed Marylanders and to ensure that the people of Maryland have ready access to clear and truthful information about the issues surrounding the marriage debate.   Our partnership with the Gill Foundation will help us do just that."

The mission of the Colorado-based Gill Foundation is to secure equal opportunity for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.   Established in 1994 by software entrepreneur Tim Gill, the Gill Foundation is the nation's largest funder of LGBT civil rights organizations.   With an endowment of approximately $200 million, the Gill Foundation has invested nearly $54 million in nonprofit organizations throughout the country.  

To promote its grassroots efforts, Free State Justice has retained the services of a professional field organizer, Ryan Spaeth.   Most recently, Spaeth was Director of the Campaign to Repeal Article XII, an ongoing effort to remove an antigay law from the Cincinnati, Ohio city charter.   Previously, Spaeth was Campaign Coordinator for the Service Employees International Union's United for Quality Care Campaign.   He has worked on both U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial campaigns.   Spaeth was also chosen to participate in the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute for Campaign Management and the AFL/CIO Organizing Institute.  

Free State Justice will be conducting outreach to community organizations, civic and religious leaders across Maryland to build a strong, rural grassroots infrastructure and educate Marylanders about the issue of relationship recognition for same-sex couples.  

To get involved in this coalition, please contact Ryan Spaeth by emailing ryanspaeth@hotmail.com

For more information on the Gill Foundation, call (303) 292-4455 or visit www.gillfoundation.org .

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The Free State Justice Educational Foundation makes life better in Maryland by advancing and protecting the human and civil rights of LGBT people, and working to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in our society through outreach, education, research, community organizing and coalition building.