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Marc Solomon

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Marc Solomon (born November 12, 1966) is a gay rights advocate. He was the national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, a group advocating same-sex marriage in the United States. Solomon is author of the book Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits—and Won (ForeEdge, publication date November 12, 2014). As executive director of MassEquality from 2006 through 2009, he led the campaign to defeat a constitutional amendment that would have reversed Massachusetts’ same-sex marriage court ruling. Politico Magazine describes Solomon as "warm and embracing" and "a born consensus builder—patient, adept at making personal connections, preternaturally gifted at politics without seeming at all like a politician."[1]

Background

Solomon was born and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri.[2] He graduated from the Barstow School in 1985[3] and Yale College in 1989. At Yale, he was a resident of Berkeley College, an economics and political science major, and co-editor of the Yale Economics and Business Review. He graduated magna cum laude with honors in his major. In 2004, Solomon earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.[4]

Early career

Solomon worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Jack Danforth (R-MO) in two different stints, first as a legislative correspondent (1989) and then as legislative assistant (1991–1994).[5] In between, he worked as a researcher for Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward on his book The Commanders, an account of White House and Pentagon decision-making during the first Gulf War. Solomon joined Danforth in St. Louis and served as vice president of St. Louis 2004, a non-profit organization to make improvements to the St. Louis region by 2004, the centennial of the St. Louis World’s Fair.[6]

Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts

Solomon began his work on marriage equality as a volunteer for the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition[7] in 2001 and worked as a lobbyist for the group in 2002 as it helped defeat a constitutional amendment that would ban gay couples from marrying.[8] Following the marriage ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in November 2003, Solomon went to work full-time as legislative director of the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition and then as political director of MassEquality.[9] In January 2006, Solomon took the helm of MassEquality and led the organization in defeating a constitutional amendment that would have barred same-sex couples from marrying. The final vote on the amendment, which took place on June 14, 2007, was 151 opposed and 45 in favor, holding supporters just beneath the 25% threshold they required.[10][11]

Among the key elements of the campaign’s success was re-electing every incumbent who voted against a constitutional amendment in two consecutive election cycles, 2004 and 2006, a total of 195 out of 195.[12]

Following defeat of the amendment, Solomon led efforts to repeal the “1913 Law” in Massachusetts, a long dormant law which Governor Mitt Romney used to prevent same-sex couples living in other states from marrying in Massachusetts.[13]

Same-sex marriage nationwide

Following the Massachusetts victory, Solomon consulted with other New England state LGBT equality organizations on strategies to secure same-sex marriage. In 2009, following the passage of Proposition 8 in California, Solomon left MassEquality to become marriage director for Equality California.[14]

In 2010, Solomon joined Freedom to Marry to serve as national campaign director, managing all of the organization’s campaign programs and helping to grow the organization from a $2 million to a $13 million effort over the course of three years. At Freedom to Marry, Solomon played leadership roles in winning marriage in multiple states, including New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, and Maine.[15] On behalf of Freedom to Marry, he led efforts to secure a same-sex marriage plank in the Democratic National Committee 2012 platform, which was credited with helping to encourage President Obama to publicly support same-sex marriage in May 2012.[16][17][18] He’s also led in the creation of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, which now includes more than 500 mayors from 44 states.[19]

Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits – and Won

On November 12, 2014 Solomon released a book called Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits – and Won.[20] The book was published by Fore Edge/University Press of New England. On September 8, 2015, the paperback edition of the book was released with a new section on practical lessons from the marriage campaign that are applicable to other social movements and an afterword on the historic nationwide ruling on marriage in June 2015.

Winning Marriage, with a foreword by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, has received critical acclaim from Bob Woodward, Dee Dee Myers, and Senator Tammy Baldwin and was named a “Best Book of 2014” by Slate Magazine, whose review said "Winning Marriage may well stand as the definitive political history of marriage equality." [21] Congressman Barney Frank called Winning Marriage "by far the best, and most accurate, of the accounts to legalize same-sex marriage."

A senior political strategist for the marriage movement for more than a decade, Solomon takes readers inside the White House, the Supreme Court, governors' offices and state capitols, as well as into the war rooms of marriage campaigns throughout the country, showing how the campaign for marriage equality has been waged and how it has prevailed.

U.S. News and World Report calls Winning Marriage "a playbook for progressive causes."[22] The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine,[23] The New Republic,[24] and Salon [25] have run excerpts from the book, and it’s been the subject of a New York Times column.[26] The book was also featured on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.[27]

The book was also reviewed in the Daily Beast,[28] Ms. Magazine,[29] and the Huffington Post.[30]

Personal life

Solomon resides in New York City.

Selected writings

Recognition

References

  1. ^ Zeitz, Josh (April 28, 2015). "The Making of the Marriage Equality Revolution". Politico Magazine. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  2. ^ "Our Team: Marc Solomon". Freedom to Marry. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  3. ^ "Interview with Marc Solomon '85". Barstow School. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  4. ^ "Tuck Pride and Tuck News Hour Hosted Guest Speakers". Tuck at Dartmouth. Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  5. ^ "Our Team: Marc Solomon". Freedom to Marry. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  6. ^ "Next Generation Leadership Alumni Network". NYU Wagner. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  7. ^ "Swift to Seek Ruling on Gay Marriage Issue". Gay PASG.
  8. ^ "How We Will Win". The Advocate.
  9. ^ Belluck, Pam (March 12, 2004). "The Gay-Marriage Debate Resumes in Massachusetts". New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  10. ^ Phillips, Frank (May 17, 2007). "Legislative Support Slim for Same-Sex Marriage Ban". Boston Globe. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Ethan (January 2, 2008). "MassEquality Campaign Director Marc Solomon: Regrouping After a Devastating Loss". EDGE Boston. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  12. ^ "Primary Elections Yield Victories for Pro-Equality Legislative Candidates". Democratic Underground. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  13. ^ Viser, Matt (July 10, 2008). "Gay-Marriage Advocates Hope to Repeal Old Law". Boston Globe. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  14. ^ "MassEquality Head Marc Solomon to Join Equality California". Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  15. ^ Ball, Molly (December 11, 2012). "The Marriage Plot: Inside This Year's Epic Campaign for Gay Equality". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  16. ^ Johnson, Chris (July 27, 2012). "Democratic Platform Committee Hears Marriage Equality Testimony". Washington Blade. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  17. ^ "Democratic Platform Draft Includes Marriage Plank". Outword Magazine. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Andrew. "David Plouffe on Becker's Book: "Decidedly Inaccurate"". The Dish. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  19. ^ "Villaraigosa to Co-Chair Mayoral Group Advocating for National Gay Marriage Law". CBS Los Angeles. January 20, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  20. ^ Solomon, Marc. "Winning Marriage". Marc Solomon, Author of Winning Marriage. Fore Edge/University Press of New England. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  21. ^ Joseph Stern, Mark. "Best Books 2014: Slate Staff Picks". Slate. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  22. ^ Sneed, Tierney. "Lessons From the March to Same-Sex Marriage". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  23. ^ Solomon, Marc. "The change-of-heart about same-sex marriage that changed everything". The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  24. ^ Solomon, Marc. "How Obama Became the Gay-Rights President". The New Republic. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  25. ^ Solomon, Marc. "Secrets of Obama’s evolution: The inside story of how the president backed gay marriage". Salon. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  26. ^ Bohlen, Celestine. "A Strong Tide of Tolerance, Slow to Build". New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  27. ^ Todd, Chuck. "The Strides and Strategy in Same-Sex Marriage". Meet the Press. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  28. ^ Graff, E.J.. "The Real Story Behind the Fight for Marriage Equality". Daily Beast. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  29. ^ Bilger, Audrey. "Marriage Equality Keeps on Winning". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  30. ^ Trachtman, Jeffery. "New Book Sets Record Straight on Who Won Marriage Equality -- and, More Importantly, How". Huffington Post . Retrieved 27 May 2015.
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