The Remus Lupins
On February 26, 2011, the HPA hosted its second Wrock 4 Equality event on Livestream. During our first event in 2009, we fought against Maine’s Proposition One, which overturned the law giving same-sex couples the right to marry. This time around, we joined forces with MASS Equality and Marriage Equality Rhode Island to encourage Rhode Island residents to tell their representatives and senators to support their state’s marriage equality bill.
Lauren Fairweather and Matt Maggiacomo
What better way to pump up the progress than with an all-day internet block party? From 10:30am-5:00pm, the HPA and some of its best buds rocked out on the Imagine Better Livestream channel. Hundreds of viewers enjoyed a wide variety of guest speakers, musicians, and internet celebrities. Several wizard rock bands performed live, including The Remus Lupins, The Whomping Willows, Lauren Fairweather, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Room of Whateva, and Kwikspell. Of course, we also made some time for phone bank training, and fellow phone bankers were able to provide moral support to each other via the Livestream chat.
In the end, it was an incredibly successful event! From February 24 to 28, HPA members made a total of 6,200 phone calls to Rhode Island and processed 214 digital postcards to RI representatives and senators. We also blew away nearly every MASS Equality phone banking record!
Our effort was an important step in engaging the public and opening minds to the cause of marriage equality. Although change wasn’t immediate, marriage equality became a reality in Rhode Island in 2013, and we’re thrilled to have been a part of that process!
