Famila es Famila is a new campaign which aims to educate Hispanics about LGBT issues and to bring greater tolerance of LGBT Americans to the Hispanic communities throughout the United States. It also has some powerful backing as of today. Twenty-two Latino civil rights organizations have announced their support for the campaign including the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Cuban American National Council, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The campaign will provide to affiliated organizations trainings, videos, publications and other resources on marriage rights for same-sex couples, discrimination and so forth. The materials will be provided in both English and Spanish.

According to the Washington Blade:

Ingrid Duran of D&P Creative Strategies, a D.C.-based public relations firm that helped create the campaign, told the Blade that “Familia es Familia” will provide “tools and resources to the community to start having conversations about LGBT issues.” She added the campaign deliberately decided to focus on families because of the central role they play in many Latinos’ lives.

“Family unity is extremely important,” said Duran. “We felt that the first line of entry into the community to talk to families.”

The announcement came during the National Council of La Raza’s annual convention, which was held in Las Vegas this year. Workshops were held regarding marriage rights, bullying, employment and various other issues during the convention’s first-ever LGBT track. MALDEF President Thomas A. Saenz and NC La Raza (not to confuse it with the other NCLR or National Center for Lesbian Rights) President Janet Murguia and others endorsed nuptials for LGBT Americans.

Murguia stated that “NCLR is deeply committed to the civil rights of all Americans, including our friends and family in the LGBT community. We are very proud that this ground-breaking public education campaign, ‘Familia es Familia,’ is being launched at our annual conference this year in Las Vegas.”

Saenz stated “The polling shows that many in the Latino community already understand that there is one struggle for equality, a struggle that benefits from appreciating common mission. ‘Familia es Familia’ is a campaign that will help to deepen the understanding that a discriminatory deprivation of rights on any basis is a cause of concern for all. Together, we can overcome all of the irrational biases that adversely affect any member of the Latino community.”

Freedom to Marry gave some $125,000 to the campaign, and Evan Wolfson told the Blade that “A growing majority of Latinos in this country know that every gay or lesbian person is part of someone’s family — a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a loved one — and the more conversations we have, family member to family member, the more support for the freedom to marry grows. Latino gay couples seek the freedom to marry to affirm and strengthen their love, their commitment, and their ability to take care of each other and their families; government should not be putting barriers in their way. Freedom to Marry is proud to be supporting the ‘Familia es Familia’ campaign to lift up Hispanic voices and stories as together we make the case for ending the exclusion from marriage.”