Politics & Government

Mayor Egly Signs Freedom To Marry Statement

The gay-marriage-supporting group Freedom To Marry has the backing of over 160 mayors from around the country.

Gays and lesbians have always had close ties with Laguna Beach, from the city's beginnings as an artist enclave and movie star hangout, up through and beyond the era of Bob Gentry, who in 1989 became the first openly gay mayor of an American city.

And now, current mayor Jane Egly has added to this historical timeline. Egly recently signed her name to the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry Statement. The group behind the gay-marriage-supporting document, Freedom To Marry, is trying to get as many mayors from around the country as possible to sign on in support. So far, over 160 have.

The statement reads, in part, "As mayors of great American cities, we proudly stand together in support of the freedom of same-sex couples to marry. We personally know many gay and lesbian people living in our cities who are in committed, loving relationships, who are active participants in the civic life of our communities, and who deserve to be able to marry the person with whom they share their life."

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Freedom To Marry, according to their site, "is leading the campaign to overturn DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) and is working across the country to win marriage in more states and educate the public about why marriage matters to same-sex couples and their families."

For Egly, putting her name—and the city's—to the Freedom To Marry doc was a no-brainer.

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"I am simply following a very long tradition in Laguna Beach," Egly tells Patch. "We value all our citizens and the diversity we have. Quoting from the pledge, ' ... our city derives great strength from its diversity, and gay and lesbian families are a crucial part.'

"And beyond that, Laguna would not be the lovely, warm artistic city it is without our gay and lesbian citizens," Egly continues. "We were one of the first cities to support gay marriage and continue to support the effort to make that a reality in California as well as the nation."

Freedom To Marry is hosting petitions on its site in an effort to get mayors of other cities, such as Dallas, Orlando and Las Vegas, involved. There's also a way for people to start petitions of their own, if their mayor hasn't signed on.

Egly was asked to lend her name to the statement by Alex Gill-Gerards, who works in Laguna Beach, and told Patch he was acting on behalf of Freedom To Marry.

"Jane Egly stood up for the LGBT community. and hopefully other mayors in Orange County will do the same," says Gill-Gerards.


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