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Ben & Jerry's Celebrates the Freedom to Marry in D.C.

Ben & Jerry's Co-founder Jerry Greenfield, D.C. Councilmember and sponsor of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 David Catania, Freedom to Marry Director of New Media Michael Crawford, along with friends and family will celebrate the couple's vows with a special wedding ice cream cake and ceremonial traditions.

Following the symbolic renaming of Ben & Jerry's well-known ice cream flavor "Chubby Hubby" to "Hubby Hubby" in September 2009 to celebrate the legalization of gay and lesbian marriages in its home state of Vermont, the company continues to demonstrate its commitment to social justice, including gay rights and its partnership with the non-profit Freedom to Marry, the leading campaign to win marriage nationwide.

"Equal rights and treatment for all people was a founding principle of Ben & Jerry's when we started the company over 30 years ago," said Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's. "We are proud that the District of Columbia is recognizing the rights of gay and lesbian couples to marry and are happy to celebrate the milestone with an ice cream wedding cake and best wishes for the happy couple."

City Councilmember David Catania will make a toast to the couple and will speak about the meaning of marriage equality for the District of Columbia and beyond. To keep the momentum of this movement, Ben & Jerry's and Freedom to Marry will continue to raise awareness for marriage equality and encourage consumers to take action and urge states to pass similar legislation by visiting freedomtomarry.org.

"The issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in America's capital marks a significant victory for the national movement to secure the freedom to marry, and a great joy for D.C. couples who no longer need to leave home to secure the protections and responsibilities of marriage for their families. Washington D.C. now joins the five states and eight countries where same-sex couples share in the freedom to marry," said Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry.

For more information on why marriage matters and to take action in your state, log on to freedomtomarry.org. To learn more about Ben & Jerry's social mission, log on to benjerry.com.

About Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super-premium ice cream and ice cream novelties, using high-quality ingredients including milk and cream from family farmers who do not treat their cows with the synthetic hormone rBGH. The company states its position on rBGH on its labels. Ben and Jerry's products are distributed nationwide and in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops, restaurants and other venues. Ben & Jerry's, a Vermont corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part Mission Statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. The goal of the social mission is to integrate a concern for the community into as many day to day business operations as possible while maintaining the product and economic missions. The move to Fair Trade ingredients is driven by that commitment. For more information visit www.benjerry.com.

About Freedom to Marry

Freedom to Marry is the leading campaign working to win marriage nationwide. We partner with a diverse range of organizations and supporters across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from the responsibilities, protections, and commitment of marriage.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6211822&lang=en

Media Contacts:
Ben & Jerry's Grand Poobah of P.R.
Sean Greenwood, 802-846-1500
Sean.Greenwood@benjerry.com
or
Cone for Ben & Jerry's
Aryn Ehlow, 617-939-8429
aehlow@coneinc.com