About KnowThyNeighbor.org

KnowThyNeighbor.org was created in the fall of 2005 in response to an initiative petition to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. It was the brainchild of Tom Lang, a gay married man, and Aaron Toleos, a straight married man.

Tom and Aaron saw the petition as an act of violence against the gay community and KnowThyNeighbor.org was their way to draw attention to the issue and provide a platform for gay activism at a very grassroots level.

In December of 2005, KnowThyNeighbor.org published the names of all 148,000+ petition signers and altered the dynamic of the petition process in several important ways:

1. Anti-gay marriage activists and supporters lost their veil of anonymity. KnowThyNeighbor.org believes that citizens who sponsor an amendment to take people's rights should never be allowed to do so under the cover of darkness.
2. "KTN's debut on the scene was nothing short of a superhero flying in to save the day."
   - Nancy Smith
   Gay citizens from all across Massachusetts were inspired to speak out in defense of their equal rights. Finding the names of friends, neighbors, family, co-workers, etc... helped trigger many into a state of activism. Uncomfortable but desperately needed conversations continue to take place every day as a result.
3. Putting the names online led to the discovery of rampant fraud in the signature collection process. Both civil and criminal investigators have been assigned by the Attorney General.

The GLBT leadership often lets fundraising and legislative lobbying efforts take precedence over grassroots, neighbor-to-neighbor advocacy. But a face-to-face conversation with someone you know can sometimes be the most powerful agent of change. KnowThyNeighbor.org exists to make sure those conversations happen!

Start a KTN in Your State!

On June 12, 2006, KTN Florida was launched in collaboration with the Christ Church of Peace in Jacksonsville and over 400,000 names were posted online.

On July 5, 2007, KTN Oregon was launched and helped bring about the failure of two anti-gay petition drives.

On April 28, 2009, KTN Arkansas was launched and the names of over 83,000 anti-gay adoption and foster care petition signers were put online.

You don't need to be part of an existing gay rights organization... you just need to be a regular citizen ready to stand up for equal rights. In most states, any citizen can get the list of petition signers directly from the Secretary of the State. Let us help get YOU started!

Contact us today:

Tom Lang, Director
(978) 335-0477
tom@knowthyneighbor.org

Aaron Toleos, Director
(978) 821-4620
aaron@knowthyneighbor.org