Yeardley Smith, the French-born actress
best know for playing the voice of Lisa Simpson on Fox's animated
series The Simpsons, has pledged up to $25,000 to the group
challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California's gay
marriage ban.
The American Foundation for Equal
Rights (AFER) announced the gift in an email to supporters on
Thursday.
“My friend and AFER supporter
Yeardley Smith stepped up to help us reach our $50,000 goal by the
end of the year,” wrote Dustin Lance Black, an AFER founding board
member and the writer of the film Milk and the play 8.
“She'll match every donation we receive until we hit our target.
We're so close and we need your help to get there.”
In Hollingsworth v. Perry, AFER
is representing two gay couples who wish to marry but cannot because
of Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment
which limits marriage to heterosexual couples. A federal judge ruled
the amendment unconstitutional and a federal appeals court upheld the
decision. Now the case heads to the Supreme Court, which is expected
to hand down a ruling in June.