A news release from the ACLU:

New Video Website, 10Couples.org, Puts Human Face on Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

The American Civil Liberties Union has teamed up with the Emmy-award winning production company Public Interest to launch a video campaign today via a new web site, www.10Couples.org. The purpose of the site is to put a human face on the issue of marriage for same-sex couples and to reach a wider audience using new media tools. Campaign partners include the Equality Federation, Freedom to Marry, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Lambda Legal, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

“We are taking advantage of web technology to get our messages out about the importance of marriage for same-sex couples,� said Dave Isser, Head of Production, Public Interest. “Using short videos posted on 10couples.org and on YouTube, we will be able to reach a wide audience and talk to them about the vital protections that marriage provides. People can comment on these videos and forward them to friends. It’s a great jumping-off point for a meaningful conversation about same-sex couples and marriage.�

The site, which features 10 short streaming videos of real couples telling their stories, aims to show Americans that denying marriage protections to gay and lesbian couples and their families is unfair and harmful. Viewers are invited into the homes of ten ordinary couples whose lives demonstrate why marriage is necessary for themselves and their families. In the process, they draw attention to the many protections reserved in America exclusively for people able to marry.

“At 10Couples.org, Americans get to see that families headed by same-sex couples are pretty typical American families,� said Matt Coles Director of the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. “Our families make the same commitments and face the same struggles, but we don’t have the safety net that government provides through marriage, and this can cause terrible harm.�

Currently, 26 states have amendments in their constitutions permanently barring same-sex couples from marriage. Many of these amendments prohibit many other forms of legal protections for the families of same-sex couples as well.

“When people realize what it means when lesbian and gay couples are shut out of legal protection for their families, they understand that it’s unfair to continue to treat committed couples as legal strangers,� added Coles. [full text]

Here is a video clip of one of the couples, Heather and Carol, who discuss, among other things, how Heather “had to fight with hospital staff to be at Carol’s side as she suffered a drug reaction that almost killed her”:

[direct link]