Love Won't Be Denied: A Case Study of the Campaign for Southern Equality's WE DO Campaign

Despite recent steps toward full legal equality for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement, thirty-three U.S. states continue to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. Every day, LGBT people in these states live as second-class citizens, without access to basic rights and with the burdens of anti-LGBT animus. In the face of these realities, the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) calls for full equality under federal law by resisting unjust state laws. This case study evaluates CSE's WE DO Campaign, which involves LGBT couples applying for marriage licenses, calling on their elected officials to, as an act of conscience, stand up to discriminatory laws. It evaluates CSE's policy advocacy work and provides an analysis of the context and impact of the most recent stage of the WE DO Campaign.