The National LGBTQ Task Force will honor SAVE Executive Director Todd Delmay and Board Co-Chair of Equality Florida Jeff Delmay at the 2024 Winter Party Festival’s VIP Cocktail Reception. The Delmays have been at the forefront of the Florida LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and represent the union of two of Florida’s most influential activist organizations. The VIP Cocktail Reception, a ticketed event, serves as the Task Force’s kick-off party to a week-long series of events inspiring the community to “Queer the Vote” this crucial election year. Individual event tickets and festival event passes are available for purchase HERE.
“The Delmays are pioneers in the local and national LGBTQ+ community for their work fighting for marriage equality. This election year, our hard won rights and frankly those yet realized are at stake. As we work to Queer the Vote, we couldn’t imagine two better people to recognize. They truly are unrelenting advocates and pillars of our Miami community who continue, despite all odds, to pursue an equitable world for queer people in Florida and nationwide.”
Kierra Johnson, National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director
Pioneers in the fight for marriage equality in Florida, the Delmays were one of six plaintiff couples, along with Equality Florida, that sued the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts in state court in 2014 for the right to marry in Florida. Soon after, a federal case was filed by SAVE and the ACLU seeking the recognition of marriage for same-sex couples. The case argued that out-of-state marriages deserved equal treatment when the spouses returned to Florida.
Both cases found in favor of the plaintiffs, and the result was same-sex couples could marry in Miami-Dade County one day earlier than in the rest of the state. The Delmays and another couple from the Florida marriage case were the first two same-sex couples in history to be legally married in the state. Soon after, the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in all 50 states, paving a new path for LGBTQ+ couples nationally.
The Winter Party Festival is an annual dance and music festival featuring a week-long series of events benefiting both local and national LGBTQ+ organizations. Attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets to the VIP Cocktail Reception where guests enjoy complimentary cocktails and learn from Task Force executive leadership about the impact their support has had in the LGBTQ+ community locally and nationally.
Individual event tickets and passes are available HERE. Press credentials are given out as space provides. If you would like to attend to cover the event, please email [email protected].
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we have made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. Those barriers must go.
CONTACT:
Cathy Renna, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force, 917-757-6123, [email protected]