Benefiting Marriage: Rock for Love

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THE NAME OF the Feb. 24 benefit concert at the Black Cat left me rather perplexed.

The event features Trophy Wife, Mirror Script and Equinox, and it's billed as "Repeal California's Proposition 8," but Join the Impact, the organization reaping the proceeds, is a nationwide campaign attempting to collect one million signatures in opposition to the "Defense of Marriage Act," which is a nationwide concern.

While California has been the most visible battleground in the marriage equality movement recently, it's strange that a seemingly West Coast-specific benefit show was taking place in Washington, D.C. No offense to Ellen, Portia or George Takei, but civil rights should be available in all states, not just the ones with a disproportionately high celebrity population.

In that spirit, here are some national and local charities that are certainly worthy of benefit shows.

» The Metro DC GLBT Center
The Center offers a number of diverse programs to the GLBT community, including art exhibits, writing programs, elder outreach, an HIV initiative, cessation groups for crystal meth and smoking, and the self-explanatory "D.C. for Marriage" initiative.

» Marriage Equality USA
The organization's mission statement is succinct: to secure legally recognized civil marriage equality for all, at the federal and state level, without regard to gender identity or sexual orientation. Thus far they only have local chapters in nine states, not including Maryland, Virginia, or the District, but the organization has several projects on the national level and is looking to expand into more areas.

» Join the Impact
Despite the "Repeal Proposition 8" tagline on the benefit concert, the group's current primary project seems to be collecting one million signatures in opposition to a different piece of legislation. The "Defense of Marriage Act" is a federal law that prevents the federal government from acknowledging same-sex relationships as marriages, and allows individual states to dictate their own policies. As important as Proposition 8 was for Californians, repealing DOMA would be a far larger step toward equal marriage rights for all Americans.

» The Victory Fund
Much as Emily's List exists to fundraise and create awareness for pro-choice female candidates, the Victory Fund endorses qualified, committed, openly LGBT candidates who can win at the ballot box. Locally, they're supporting College Park City Council incumbent Patrick Wojahn (above, left). During his current term, Wojahn successfully lobbied the council and mayor to approve a letter in support of marriage equality in Maryland.

» Equality Virginia
Equality Virginia's current top priority seems to be convincing the General Assembly to codify Governor Tim Kaine's first executive order after taking office, which banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation, veteran status or disability. They also support repealing the Marshall-Newman amendment to the Virginia constitution, which denied not just marriage, but any relationship recognition, to same-sex couples.

» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; with Trophy Wife, Mirror Script and Equinox, Tue., Feb. 24, 9 p.m., $8; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Meg Zamula