| Empowering Spirits Foundation | |
|---|---|
 The ESF logo symbolizing a ring of unity. |
|
| Motto | Working Together for Equality |
| Formation | 2008 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, C.A. |
| President & C.E.O. | A. Latham Staples |
| Website | http://www.empoweringspirits.org |
The Empowering Spirits Foundation (ESF) is a national non-profit, non-partisan lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) grassroots based civil rights organization in the United States.[1][2][3][4][5] The ESF mission statement is "By inspiring and engaging all Americans through service-oriented activities, the Empowering Spirits Foundation strives to end discrimination against LGBT individuals and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all."[1][6][7][8]
Contents |
About
The Empowering Spirits Foundation is based in San Diego, C.A. with chapters spread throughout the nation.[5][7][8] ESF members engage in service-oriented activities in communities typically opposed to equal rights.[2][9][10] In doing so the organization works side-by-side with non-LGBT individuals in an attempt to foster thought and change toward equality.[1][3][11]
Additionally, ESF is a visible entity in U.S. politics. The ESF develops community awareness, collaborates with other coalitions, and empowers individuals and organizations to engage in the political process for equality through educational endeavors.[1][11]
History & Leadership
The Empowering Spirits Foundation was established by A. Latham Staples in 2008 after the passage of Proposition 8 in California out of frustration as to how he thought LGBT rights organizations were approaching the gay rights issue.[1][11][12]
“I volunteered with a LGBT organization in California and grew tired of their attacks on minority groups and Mormons as they felt these groups were the cause of the passage of Proposition 8,” said Staples in a November, 2008 press release. “Demeaning someone doesn’t make them want to re-consider their viewpoints. I feel that we can come together through service-oriented events, and maybe in working side-by-side with our non-LGBT neighbors, they may come to see similarities rather than differences, hope rather than failure, strength rather than weakness.”[11]
Events
Empowering Spirits Foundation members engage in service-oriented activities in communities throughout the nation. These events range from small events at nursing homes and food banks, highway clean-up endeavors, and neighborhood restoration projects, to participation in large citywide rallies.[1][13]
National Equality Rally
The Empowering Spirits Foundation, along with other LGBT organizations, co-organized the National Equality Rally which took place from April 27 through May 3, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.[14][15] The rally featured a series of cultural programs, panels, parties and outdoor events, and a tribute to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome who is a proponent of gay rights.[14][16]
Proud Hearts Reach Out
The Empowering Spirits Foundation announced May 26, 2009 that it would hold an annual nationwide service-oriented event to promote LGBT equality called “Proud Hearts Reach Out” in conjunction with National Coming Out Day.[17][18] The nationwide event was created in response to the California Supreme Court decision to uphold Proposition 8, the state-wide ban on same-sex marriage.
“Now that the Court announced their long-awaited ruling, we must move forward, and focus on ways to foster positive thought and change toward equality. We will engage in service-oriented activities nationwide in communities typically opposed to equal rights,” said A. Latham Staples, Empowering Spirits Foundation President & C.E.O. “It is our hope that in working side-by-side with our non-LGBT neighbors, they may come to see similarities rather than differences, hope rather than failure, strength rather than weakness.”[18]
Roughly 5,000 volunteers attended the ESF service events held across 36 states October 10-11, 2009, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, MyOutSpirit.com, the American Cancer Society, and the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.[19][20]
Controversy
Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine
In May, 2009 the Empowering Spirits Foundation filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service to seek revocation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland’s tax exempt status.[21][22][23] This complaint was filed after Mark Mutty, the Diocese’s Public Affairs Director, announced plans for the church to gather 55,087 signatures needed for a state referendum on same-sex marriage, in an attempt to overturn Maine’s new same-sex marriage law.[24] Mutty is quoted as calling the church’s action “one of the biggest grassroots movements in Maine history.”[25][26]
The Alliance Defense Fund, responding on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine, urged the Empowering Spirits Foundation to “cease filing frivolous and factually flawed IRS complaints as a way of intimidating organizations that believe in protecting marriage.” [27][28][29]
The Alliance Defense Fund's senior counsel, Erik Stanley, stated in the letter to ESF that the IRS allows tax-exempt organizations to "engage in lobbying activities, including advocating a position on a public referendum, without violating their tax-exempt status so long as the activity is not a substantial activity of the organization."[30]
See also
In general
- Same-sex marriage
- Timeline of same-sex marriage
- Status of same-sex marriage
- LGBT rights by country or territory
In the United States
- LGBT rights in the United States
- Same-sex marriage in the United States
- Same-sex marriage in the United States public opinion
- Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
- Same-sex unions in the United States
- List of benefits of marriage in the United States
- Defense of Marriage Act
- Marriage Protection Act
- Federal Marriage Amendment
- Gay community
- List of LGBT rights organizations
References
- ^ a b c d e f ESF | About Us
- ^ a b [ http://www.wiserearth.org/organization/view/c169c5a5c09f75d33327e1e86832df97 Wiser Earth Organizations: Empowering Spirits Foundation]
- ^ a b Idealist.org – Empowering Spirits Foundation
- ^ Philadelphia.com
- ^ a b Washington DC.com
- ^ [ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Empowering-Spirits-Foundation/49288966338 Empowering Spirits Foundation Facebook Page]
- ^ a b Los Angeles Gay
- ^ a b San Francisco.com
- ^ Seattle.com
- ^ Minneapolis.com
- ^ a b c d "Empowering Spirits Foundation Founded After Passage of Prop. 8" (PDF). Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release. 2008-11-11. http://www.empoweringspirits.org/PRDocServer/ESF_Founding_111108.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ MyOutSpirit
- ^ [ http://www.youtube.com/empoweringspirits YouTube Video of Empowering Spirits Foundation events]
- ^ a b [ http://www.nationalequalityrally.com/nationalequalityrally/co-organize.html National Equality Rally]
- ^ "Equality Forum honors Newsom, the New York Times". Edge. 2009-05-07. http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=90863. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Mayor Defends Same-Sex Marriages". CNN. 2004-02-22. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/22/same.sex/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ "Freedom Jubilee created in response to Prop. 8 decision". Gay & Lesbian Times. 2009-05-27. http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=14768. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ a b "Freedom Jubilee Created in Response to Prop. 8 Decision" (PDF). Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release. 2009-05-26. http://www.empoweringspirits.org/PRDocServer/Freedom_Jubilee_Prop_8_Court_052609.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ "5,000 Plus Gays & Lesbians Help Local Communities Nationwide" (PDF). Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release. 2009-10-10. http://www.empoweringspirits.org/PRDocServer/ProudHearts/National_Release_After.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ "5,000 Plus Gays & Lesbians Help Local Communities Nationwide". My So Called Gay Life. 2009-10-12. http://blog.mysocalledgaylife.com/?p=2300. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ "Maine Church Accused of Tax Law Violation". San Francisco Chronicle. 2009-05-22. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/22/MN5B17OOPR.DTL&type=newsprop8_chron. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Group Challenges Church Fight vs. Gay Weds". Boston Herald. 2009-05-22. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2009_05_22_Group_challenges_church_fight_vs__gay_weds. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Maine Diocese in Violation of Tax Law?". Advocate. 2009-05-21. http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid85446.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
- ^ "Gay Rights Group: Main Diocese Violating Tax Law". Salon Magazine. 2009-05-21. http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/us/2009/05/21/D98AQQM80_us_gay_marriage/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ "Maine drafts gay marriage ballot question". Washington Blade. 2009-05-29. http://www.washblade.com/2009/5-29/news/national/14608.cfm. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Maine drafts gay marriage ballot question". Dallas Voice. 2009-05-22. http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11307.php. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Homosexual Group’s IRS Complaint is ‘Bogus,’ Maine Catholic Diocese Says". CNS News. 2009-05-26. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48573. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "ADF to activist group: Stop threatening Maine diocese over marriage". Free Christian Press. 2009-05-29. http://www.freechristianpress.com/2009/05/adf-to-activist-group-stop-threatening-maine-diocese-over-marriage/. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "ADF to activist group: Stop threatening Maine diocese over marriage". Alliance Defense Fund. 2009-05-29. http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/pressrelease.aspx?cid=4967. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
- ^ "Complaint Filed with IRS against Maine Diocese". National Catholic Reporter. 2009-05-29. http://ncronline.org/news/politics/complaint-filed-irs-against-maine-diocese. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
External links
- Empowering Spirits Foundation — official website
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