WHO: LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics
WHAT: Gay and straight couples in Santa Barbara will pucker up for a purpose on June 18th as part of a nationwide ‘Kiss and Tell’ protest at LUSH Cosmetics. LUSH is inviting the public and their pouts down to their stores to kiss in support of marriage for same-sex couples and sign postcards telling the federal government to end the ongoing discrimination against tens of thousands of couples and families across America.
The nationwide ‘Kiss and Tell’ will be taking place at LUSH stores at exactly 11:38 a.m. to signify the number of protections, responsibilities and rights that are currently denied to same-sex couples and their families under the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
WHERE: Outside LUSH Cosmetics, 613 Paseo Nuevo
WHEN: Saturday, June 18th, 11:38 a.m. sharp
WHY: Exclusion from the freedom to marry unfairly punishes committed same-sex couples and their families by depriving them of critical support, security, and obligations in virtually every area of life, including death and taxes. Under DOMA, same-sex couples are excluded from 1,138 rights tied to marriage because the federal government does not recognize their marriages. The denial of marriage is one of the harshest inequalities inflicted on lesbian and gay Americans and their families, and it’s a discrimination enacted by our own government.
LUSH, in partnership with Freedom to Marry, has launched a campaign calling on the U.S. federal government to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would allow same-sex couples and their families access to the 1,138 civil rights that come with federal marriage recognition. This means everyone – gay and non-gay – having the freedom to marry, with the same responsibilities, dignity, security and expression of love and equality.