Grindr Gets Political

Courtesy of Grindr

You may know Grindr for hooking up, but did you know the social app also has gay rights in its sights? Grindr for Equality, as it’s known, teamed with the Courage Campaign to help push marriage equality forward around the country. The first step is petitioning the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to help fund and support same-sex marriage rights in the election year.

“We’re the ones putting Democrats in office all the time so why shouldn’t the DNC support the rights of same-sex couples?” asks Rick Jacobs, chair and founder of the Courage Campaign. “It’s time for the DNC to have our backs. After all, Democrats are supposed to fight for equal opportunities and justice for all Americans.”

It couldn’t come at a better time. Voters in as many as five states are set to face ballot questions on same-sex marriage this year.

In North Carolina and Minnesota, voters will be asked to decide on constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage in June and November, respectively. In Maine, voters will face a ballot question on whether to permit same-sex marriage. In Washington State, opponents of marriage equality announced plans to file for a ballot referendum on the marriage equality law signed last week. It’s also expected that the Maryland legislature will enact marriage equality.

Given longtime LGBT voter support for Democrats, that makes the DNC’s support critical.

In 2008, the DNC spent $25,000 to help defeat Prop 8 in California. Nationwide, as many as 80 percent of self-identified gay, lesbian or bisexual voters say they voted for the Democrat in their local race for the U.S. House, according to CNN’s exit poll. In October, DNC Chairwoman and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a supporter of marriage equality for same-sex couples, told reporters at a fundraiser she would “certainly consider” funding efforts to support the rights of same-sex couples. This month, the DNC and Obama campaign reported raising $29.1 million in January alone.

“The United States holds our largest number of users and we seek to mobilize them to make sure we are all treated equally under the law,” says Joel Simkhai, Grindr’s founder and CEO. “During this all-important election year, we must remind those in power that we are not fighting for special rights. We’re fighting for equal rights.”

Courage Campaign has already sent a petition to legislators, while Grindr for Equality sent a broadcast asking its members who use the popular app to sign on:

LGBT voters and their allies have put Democrats in office for years. Now it’s time for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to have our back and help secure equal rights. As many as 5 states (Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Washington) will face ballot referenda on marriage equality this year, where voters will vote on the rights of same-sex couples to marry.

Click here to sign the petition.