July 11, 2008

Note to Lesbian Pioneers: Avoid Wisconsin

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Now that gay marriage is legal in California, a same sex marriage showdown is brewing in Wisconsin.

An obscure Wisconsin state law circa 1915 declares fraudulent any marriage performed outside the state if the couple intends to return to Wisconsin to live. I’m gonna spare myself the research and wager that this law had everything to do with anti-miscegenation impulses.

A pioneering lesbian couple has every intention of courting prosecution by traveling to LA on August 8 to marry and return home. Cue “the family values” contingent in Wisconsin.

It was almost amusing watching the spokeswoman keep a straight face while forcefully arguing that their only impetus was fending off this couple’s “defrauding” of Wisconsin and not, you know, the hot girl-on-girl action.

So, come August 9th, look for a round of gay marriage prosecutions.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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