Joe Solmonese and his husband Jed
Hastings have posed for the NOH8 Campaign, the silent protest which
raises awareness and funds for gay rights causes, including ending
California's 2008 voter-approved gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.
Solmonese, the outgoing president of
the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay rights
advocate, mentioned his new husband in introducing President Barack
Obama earlier this month at the group's annual fundraiser in
Washington D.C.
“Seven years ago when I arrived at
the Human Rights Campaign we found ourselves, if you remember, in a
battle with then President Bush over the federal marriage amendment.
Seven years later I stand before you at my last National Dinner about
to introduce our current president, Barack Obama.”
“Seven years ago, as we plotted that
attack on a constitutional ban on our marriages, I certainly never
dreamed that six years later I would marry a formal federal club
co-chair from Minneapolis named Jed Hastings,” he added.
The NOH8 Campaign, which is helmed by
photographer-activist Adam Bouska and his partner Jeff Parshley,
photographs celebrities, politicians, professional athletes and
everyday folks with their mouths duct taped and the campaign's
familiar “NOH8” slogan often written on one cheek.
In
their photo, the men are seen preparing to remove the duct tape
off the other's mouth.