Our Mission

The Power is an online organizing network that empowers grassroots and netroots activists from every state in the country and from all over the world to fight for equal rights for LGBT people, not on some arbitrary and convenient schedule created by politicians and lobbyists, but right now.

Objectives

1. To inspire every individual committed to LGBT equality to find his or her political voice, emboldened by the knowledge that no matter where they are or what their circumstances, even the smallest voice standing against injustice, when united with a million other small voices, can change the world.
2. To enable those who can’t participate in traditional activist activities due to geographic isolation, time limitations, or personal circumstances, to express themselves through small but powerful actions in unison with a global community of like minded individuals.
3. To empower that community with the same sophisticated online tools used by the most successful political campaigns to demand accountability from leaders and institutions at the federal, state, and local levels.
4. To enact federal civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status, repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, provides federal hate crimes protections to LGBT people, and provides immigration equality for LGBT relationships.

 Guiding Principles

1. LGBT rights are civil rights. They are not special rights. They are not religious rights. They are rights conferred by our government, founded on the principle of the separation of church and state, to ensure that all law-abiding citizens can participate equally in society.
2. Civil rights are not a partisan issue. They are an American issue.
3. Hate is a life or death issue.
4. Now is our time. We have been told time and again to wait our turn. Wait equals Never. Change is never convenient. And no minority has ever gained rights from the majority without demanding them.
5. Individuals, not organizations change the world. Political organizations are merely frameworks to empower individuals to make their voices heard.
6. Any movement for social justice that discourages the anger of its constituents diminishes the impetus for change.
7. The measure of the success of our movement is the impact it has on LGBT youth.

OUR BRIEF HISTORY

THE POWER began as a Facebook group that harnessed the spontaneous grass roots energy that errupted in the aftermath of Proposition 8 to pressure a group of rogue Democratic New York State Senators known as "The Gang of Three" (Ruben Diaz, Sr., Carl Kruger, and Pedro Espada, Jr.) to abandon a scheme to back an anti-marriage Republican (Dean Skelos) over a pro-marriage Democrat (Malcolm Smith) for majority leader. Through targeted calls to action, The Power mobilized thousands of people from around the state, the country, and the world to contact these legislators. The calls shut down Senator Diaz's office for a month. Ultimately, the campaign to support Malcolm Smith was successful and we succeeded in making it clear that under no circumstances would the public tolerate politicians using civil rights as a bargaining chip. On January 22nd, 2009, The Power launched a nationwide petition to expand the Civil Rights Act. The Power is commited to continuing to engage in targeted grass roots actions advancing marriage equality in New York, and to pursuing the cause of LGBT equality nationwide.