Grindr For Equality Teams With The Courage Campaign To Petition For Gay Marriage Fundraising Efforts

From Washington state to Maryland, the campaign for marriage equality has made some amazing strides already in 2012.

But as the election year gears up, two organizations -- the Courage Campaign and Grindr for Equality -- are collaborating in an effort to petition the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to help fund efforts to support same-sex marriage in various ballot initiative fights.

Known as the world's largest all-male social network, Grindr might not immediately be associated with political activism. But as Grindr founder and CEO Joel Simkhai explained in a press release, "There is strength in numbers and Grindr for Equality will enable our users to use our platform for the greater good of our community. In today's world, the power of social networks and location-based mobile technologies are playing a major role in political change and social awareness. We want to continue that momentum and get more people involved."

Meanwhile, the Courage Campaign is a "multi-issue online organizing network that empowers more than 750,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to work for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country." Together with Grindr, the Courage Campaign will deliver the petition to DNC Chairwoman and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has spoken out in favor of marriage equality.

In addition, three state-based activists will join the two organizations: Darcy Burner, a Democratic candidate running to represent Washington's First District in Congress; Pam Spaulding, founder of the popular Pam's House Blend blog in North Carolina; and Bill Harnsberger, the longtime DailyKos front-page writer known as Bill in Portland Maine.

Check out the Grindr for Equality/Courage Campaign's petition here.