Congressional District Action Teams (CDATs) are a group of people who live close to each other and organize together as part of the Equality Across America network. In fact, CDATs are the network! Some CDATs are chapters of other organizations, like Join the Impact. Others are just a small band of friends who are new to this, but committed to working together.

So … what do these CDATs do?

CDATs are organized around three principles:

1. Full Federal Equality
We have one single demand: Equal protection for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. We will accept no compromises, and no fractions of equality.

2. Action
Actions speak louder than words. CDATs should do more than meet – they should be present in their communities, having conversations, taking actions, changing hearts and minds, building coalitions, and demanding equality from our elected leadership.

3. Nonviolence
We may be fighting for our rights, but we’re committed to nonviolence! Our movement is situated in a long history of the struggle for social and economic justice. In recent history, the liberation movements of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., provide amazing examples of the power of nonviolence in making change. Already our movement has embraced many of the tactics of nonviolent resistance, including civil disobedience. We believe the time for coordinated national civil disobedience may be close at hand, and we recommend you visit our friends at Soulforce (http://soulforce.org) and the Ruckus Society (http://ruckus.org) to learn more.

Based on these three principles, CDATs are empowered to immediately begin the work that will bring us our full federal equality. The first steps will be CDAT Mobilization Meetings and our National Week of Initiative, November 1st – 8th.

Source: Equality Across America, CDAT Organizer Toolkit #1