Are you wondering why the newsfeed on your Facebook is suddenly all red?
While the Supreme Court was hearing the arguments for and against marriage quality, with two important cases before them, thousands of social media users who support gay marriage changed their avatars to a red equality sign to show their support.
The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest advocacy group that works to gain equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans, orchestrated this social media campaign.
The organization traditionally uses the symbol of a yellow equal sign on a blue background. Organization changed the symbol to all red, the color being used and worn by supporters of gay marriage to show their solidarity on Tuesday.
Visitors to the organizations Facebook page were encouraged to change their avatar to the new red symbol. Two posts on the main page were shared, or liked, over 70,000 times.
The purpose of the campaign is to show support for marriage equality during the next two days while the Supreme Court is hearing arguments for two potentially groundbreaking cases on gay marriage. Arguments about Poposition 8 began Tuesday, which bans the right for same sex couples to marry in California. The court will hear arguments regarding the national Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on Wednesday, which has legally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman since 1996.
Supporters are also encouraged to wear red. The discussion itself has also gone viral, with popular hash tags on Twitter including #Equality, #UnitedforMarriage, #SupremeCourt, and #Love.
The viral campaign is also gaining celebrity support.
On Twitter, "One Tree Hill" actress Sophia Bush changed her icon to the red equal sign, and posted, "My profile is red b/c I am joining @HRC in support of marriage equality during the Supreme Court hearings: -Join us!" and "We must be on the right side of history. We must be the change."
"Friday Night Lights" actress Minka Kelly tweeted, "Use this photo for your profile pics this week in support of marriage equality. We. Are. All. =."
"Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" stars Emma Caulfield and Amber Benson also tweeted their support. Benson tweeted, "The Dark Ages ended a long time ago, folks! Marriage equality now!"
Actress Evan Rachel Wood tweeted, "no matter what you believe we have to stand up for freedom and equal rights in this country. Otherwise what do we stand for?"
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
