Petition Delivered! -- by Matty Jacobson

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Aimed at those who seek to destroy our families, this
sign was a little ironic since it was displayed by
Matty Jacobson, who attended the rally without his
family due to conflicting schedules.

 THE SKEWED REVIEW | HEADLINES

Who would have thought that the petition started to make a simple point -- don't spend $2 million on hate -- would make it all the way to Utah's Capitol Hill?

Well, it did. Of course that petition piggybacked on the bigger success of another petition, started by Tim Wagner, which calls for Gov. Gary Herbert to let marriage equality stand. But together, the two petitions garnered at least 56,000 signatures at the time of delivery.

And the signing continues.

With the help of MoveOn.org, I was able to make the trip to Salt Lake City to see my petition was delivered. And what an experience it was.

It was awe-inspiring to see the capital rotunda packed with supporters of equal rights. There were glorious stories of family values being told, beautiful examples of family success, and it all hopefully got the attention of the state. But we'll see about that.

All the couples who were legally married
in Utah during the brief period of time
when the state had equal rights gather at
the rally Jan. 11 to show their support for
family values.

Through the efforts of Salt Lake City-area radio personality Troy Williams, the rally was put together with only a couple of days notice. But just after noon on Jan. 10, roughly 1,800 supporters gathered inside the capital.

Wagner spoke to the crowd about the importance of letting love rule the day. He told me later that he hadn't intended for his petition to snowball into the behemoth it is today, but that he's glad it did.

I also had the opportunity to speak to the crowd, although I was wholly unprepared to do so. I wish I'd have written something down, but I tried to get my point across as briefly as possible that Utah, like any place or person on this planet, could stand to be improved. And while $2 million might not mean a lot to the governor, it could mean a world of difference to students, the poor, the hungry, the unemployed and the environment.

So I enthusiastically called for those in attendance to help me let the governor know that we don't want our taxpayer money to go toward hate.

Pictured is the printout of the combined
petitions. Numbering thousands and
thousands of pages, at least 56,000
signatures were delivered to the governor's
office Jan. 11.

The rally was filled to the brim with an array of speakers from every walk of life. The Kitchens, who first filed the lawsuit against the state of Utah, talked about the changing opinions in the public arena. Schoolteachers talked about how their daughter was being harmed because of the governor's action. The child of a same-sex couple defended his parents and made it a point to tell Herby that he's doing great, and the only thing he has to fear are the rights and protections he doesn't have because his parents aren't legally recognized as married in the state of Utah.

But the rally wasn't without its downside.

I travelled alone because my husband had to work. Unlike the state of Utah, we don't have the funds to throw money at whatever we want. Luckily, I had the day off, so I could make the trip. Sadly, I had no one by my side.

For a governor who's so concerned about family values, he doesn't seem to care that he's breaking up all these families who showed up, or that he made me leave my husband (which, as ridiculous as it may sound, was incredibly painful considering the situation) to demand I be afforded the same dignity and rights the governor enjoys on a daily basis.

But despite my loneliness, I couldn't help but leave with a feeling of accomplishment. Despite the fact that Herby the No-love Gov. has yet to release a statement that he even knows about our petitions.

Let's keep up the good fight. We can't be ignored forever.

Below the Facebook comments is a video shot by Dominique Storni, which shows the majority of the rally.