ABOUT US
The Kiss for Equality Campaign
We believe in equality. We believe in love. We believe all love is equal.
We believe every loving couple deserves "Equal Justice Under Law."
We believe all couples should be able to kiss without fear.
We believe the freedom to love is a basic human right.
Kiss for Equality is an equal rights campaign devoted to raising awareness about LGBTQ equality by visually documenting the universality of love. We understand that the struggle for equal rights takes on many forms around the world. While marriage equaltiy is legal in 17 countries, homosexuality remains illegal in 78. We feel it is crucial to humanize the struggle for equality across the globe and dare to show loving couples (and allies) expressing their love openly.
It is often a brave act for an LGBTQ couple to share a kiss in public. It is braver still for all of us to do so and take a stand for human rights by kissing someone we love in solidarity for love for all.
"Everyone should have the right to be comfortable with who they are."
- Tina T.
"The fight is not over but it's moving in the right direction."
- Kelly M.
"It's time to take a stand and show the whole world who you love."
- Elizabeth C.
History
The Kiss for Equality campaign* was launched on Valentine’s Day 2013 as a way to raise awareness about marriage equality in the United States. The campaign has since become a global campaign for LGBTQ equality worldwide.
In March 2013, the United States Supreme Court held its first hearings on same-sex marriage equality. American gay rights activist Sarah S. Kilborne saw that the simple act of kissing another human being could celebrate the love at the heart of the hearings and be a powerful gesture of solidarity for gay rights.
“Throughout time and across borders, a kiss has been a symbol of support, love, friendship, peace, respect and union," said Kilborne. "Couples unite at the altar with a kiss. Heads of state kiss to show understanding and accord. Adversaries kiss to 'make up' and restore harmony. So we invited people to take part in this universal act, capture their kiss in a photograph, and do so with a consciousness that they were supporting equal rights for all.”
Kilborne and the Kiss for Equality team see the simple act of kissing as something that transcends the legal battles. “Each photo is a profoundly moving and courageous act of human expression,” says Kilborne. “When you see so many couples giving one another a kiss, it just becomes so visually apparent that love is a normal, natural and human right. The desire to love freely and openly is something that resonates around the world.”
*The Kiss for Equality campaign is also known as “The Supreme Kiss/Kiss for Equality Campaign” and can be found on Facebook under “The Supreme Kiss”
