DBD10: Standing Up for Equal Hearts – Our Journey Towards Marriage Equality w/ Tracy Hollister

Summary: The fight for marriage equality in America is comparable to the freedom of marriage for interracial couples. This idea began with much controversy and resistance, but slowly became a widely accepted norm until eventually the laws and societal norms followed suit. As of May, 2014 44% of Americans were living in a state that supports marriage equality. This is a huge accomplishment for our country, which stands for equality and freedom for all, but it was not without much effort and hard work from committed individuals like Tracy Hollister and many other talented campaign leaders across the country. Tracy Hollister is now working as a program manager at Marriage Equality USA, and has been a part of several state campaigns to win marriage or defeat other anti-marriage equality amendments like NC's Amendment One. Tracy tells us about her journey as a marriage equality advocate, and it has not been an easy road. She and her team are still working around the clock to protect LGBT families from discriminatory laws around the country as well as expand awareness and acceptance of the LGBT community. I greatly enjoyed interviewing Tracy for this podcast. Her story is an inspiration to me because even though she knew that the chances of winning were slim, she pushed forward full steam ahead and kept her team motivated to do the same. Even after experiencing failure and defeat, she persisted. Tracy Hollister is a leader in every sense, and acts as a servant to others through her commitment to the marriage equality movement. Thanks Heather Hollick for connecting me with Tracy (Listen to Heather's Story Here). Check Out "Getting To I Do: Our Journeys to Marriage Equality"  Tell your story! Getting To I Do is a project to collect and share multimedia-rich personal stories about relationships, family, marriage, advocacy, and equality in an online gallery. Sharing the personal stories of our own dreams, ideals, and experiences with our families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and communities is one of the most powerful ways to bring people to support civil marriage. Connect with Tracy Hollister: thollister@marriageequality.org Connect with Marriage Equality USA:   www.marriageequality.org  (347) 913.6369 Be sure to Rate and Review Drop by Drop Podcast on iTunes!