Sept. 3 A Day of Love and Hope for Russia

Dear adamfoxie*blog International Reader,

Very soon, world leaders including President Obama will meet President Putin in St Petersburg, Russia. UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Brazil's President Rousseff, French President Hollande and many more will all be there for a global summit.

Imagine if just before the big meeting, tens of thousands of people gather together around the world, to speak out against Russia’s anti-gay law. That could be the headline that every world leader wakes up to.

If the Russian anti-gay law is all over the news, world leaders will feel pressure to respond with strong statements against the law. Some of them might even go the extra mile, and call on Putin to repeal the law right there at the meeting.

To make it happen, tens of thousands of people will join Global Speak Out events near them on Tues 3 September. Can you join in?

Take a look at our website to see if there is a USA event near you. If there isn't one already, perhaps you could organise your own? Our website has a handy guide to help you set up an event where you live.

Click here to get started:
https://www.allout.org/russiaevents

The more events that take place in the USA and around the world, the more newspapers will report it as a huge global event, and the more likely it will be that world leaders will call on President Putin to repeal the anti-gay law.

If you’re in New York:

Can you come to No. 9 E 91st Street, New York City at 6.30pm on Tuesday 3 Sept, to join hundreds of people calling on Obama to ask President Putin to repeal the law?

Lots of different organisations and people will be going along on the day, to speak out for Russia together. If you use Facebook, click here to RSVP on the event page. You could also print out an All Out poster to take along on the day.

For the last two years, All Out members have been speaking out against the Russian government’s anti-gay crackdown and the surge in brutal murders.

We can do powerful things together when we meet up. Recently, 50 members of All Out gathered in Switzerland to hand in our 350,000 strong petition to the Olympic Committee. We also surprised Russia’s ambassador in New York, when we handed the petition to him personally at his house.

Let’s turn Tuesday 3 September into a huge day of love and hope for Russia, and push our world leaders to call on President Putin to repeal the anti-gay laws.

If you’re outside New York City, click here:
https://www.allout.org/russiaevents

If you’re in New York, come to 9 E 91st Street at 6.30pm on Tues 3 Sept. RSVP here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/574309395940421/

Thanks for going All Out,

Andre, Guillaume, Hayley, Jeremy, Marie, Mike, Sabelo, Tile, and the rest of the All Out team.

PS: Here’s how amazing it can be when All Out members get together - click to watch the video of the petition delivery to the Olympic Committee in Switzerland. 

PPS: Results of the survey: 27,563 All Out members filled in the survey on next steps - incredible. Getting world leaders to speak out came out as the top priority. More than a third of people also said they’d be keen to go to an event, so hopefully lots of us can get along on Tues 3rd Sept.

The top answers to the question of who should we target were: Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Sports Ministers; the Olympic Committee, and global corporations. The top answers for things people would like to were: forward the petition to family and friends, send an email to get people or organisations to speak out, attend an event, and chip in a donation. The areas where All Out should most focus, top priorities were: ending laws that make it illegal to be gay, ending hate crimes, discrimination and violence, and stopping organisations that offer gay ‘cures’.

It’s not perfectly scientific, but it gives the staff team a really good idea of the direction All Out members want to go, and will help guide decisions about what to do next in the coming months. Thanks for being part of it.

SOURCES:

Gay rights campaigners petition IOC over Russia's Sochi Olympics - CNN, 7 August 2013 
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/07/world/europe/russia-gay-rights/index.html 

Activists Confront Russian Envoy Over Anti-Gay Law - The Moscow Times, 8 August 2013
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/activists-confront-russian-un-envoy-over-anti-gay-law/484346.html 

"All Out delivered a petition signed by more than 300,000 people from all around the world" - ABCNews special report, 8 August 2013 
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/abc-news-digital-special-report-russias-winter-olympics-19908818 

Obama Must Wear the Rainbow Flag Pin to the G20 Summit, Hollywood Must Speak Out - August 2013 - FrontiersLA 
http://www.frontiersla.com/News/Context/Story.aspx?ID=2020875