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NEWS RELEASE EQUALITY MARYLAND FREE STATE JUSTICE ANNOUNCES NAME CHANGE TO 'EQUALITY MARYLAND', LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE "Equality Maryland" Reflects Amplified Efforts to End Discrimination Against Families Headed by Same-Sex Couples BALTIMORE - Free State Justice, Maryland's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights group, announced today that is has changed its name to "Equality Maryland." The name change coincides with the launch of a new web site, www.equalitymaryland.org, which will serve as an interactive site for information, education and advocacy on LGBT issues. "Equality Maryland's mission could not be more clear," said executive director Dan Furmansky. "We seek equal protection and equal rights under the law for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Marylanders. Our new name puts our purpose right into the title of the organization, and will resonate with legislators, the LGBT community, and allies alike." The "Equality Maryland" name change coincides with a spate of recent growth initiatives announced by the organization. In November, Equality Maryland named a new executive director, Dan Furmansky, a former senior field organizer with the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBT civil rights organization, based in Washington, D.C. In December, the group was awarded a $12,000 grant from the Colorado-based Gill Foundation to support education and grassroots efforts for marriage equality beyond the Baltimore and Washington areas. To promote this work, the organization retained the services of a professional field organizer, Ryan Spaeth, who most recently served as Director of the Campaign to Repeal Article XII, an ongoing effort to remove an antigay law from the Cincinnati, Ohio city charter. Recently, Equality Maryland announced its intentions to hold a series of town hall meetings on relationship recognition throughout Maryland, including Hagerstown, Baltimore, La Plata, and the Eastern Shore. The organization plans to conduct outreach to community organizations, civic and religious leaders to build a strong, statewide infrastructure and educate Marylanders about the issue of relationship recognition for same-sex couples. In addition, Equality Maryland plans to complement its work in Annapolis with organizing on the county level. "Free State Justice has advanced the rights of LGBT Marylanders a great deal since its founding in 1990," said Del. Richard S. Madaleno (D-Kensington). "The organization's efforts set the stage for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 2001 and the passage of anti-discrimination protections for the Baltimore City transgender community in 2002. Now, LGBT Marylanders face a battle to end discrimination against our families and, with widespread support, Equality Maryland is well-equipped to raise the profile of this important civil rights issue." "This issue is going to be front-burner well past this year's legislative session," said Furmansky." "As Maryland's largest LGBT civil rights organization, Equality Maryland can and will be a voice for all fair-minded Marylanders." ### Equality Maryland is Maryland's largest LGBT civil rights organization, focused on making life better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Maryland. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels and educating the public about the issues faced by our diverse community. Equality Maryland can be found online at www.equalitymaryland.org
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