CA LGBT Hubris. And the March for Equal Rights.
DC area individuals (LGBT and not) have asked me why CA "No on 8" was important to me. Beyond the fact that the happiest day of my life was standing at the zenith of San Francisco City Hall getting married under the watch of Harvey Milk -- Proposition 8 was an attack on a peoples' life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. It is an attack on fairness and the wish I ask for every birthday -- World Peace.
Sadly, the United States LGBT community will not have learned. We will not make a more concerted effort to reach out to our constituency and allies. We will not coordinate our efforts to maximize results and minimize repercussions. We will not take our message to non-traditional territories. It's easy to campaign at the local Pride Festival or gayborhood. It's time to take our message to the BET and Univision's of the world. It's time for Ellen to be on Oprah. It's time to unite in political action across the nation as our opponents unite against us.
LGBT havens like San Francisco are wonderful, but they isolate their denizens from 'the rest of the world.' Statements like "We have become the first state in US history to use our Constitution to take rights away from people" are sensational and marginalize those of us who live in states that have already defined marriage to be between heterosexual persons. As was suggested to me, perhaps Californian LGBT should move to VT or MA. Perhaps those who have made such naive suggestions now understand that running away is not the solution. Perhaps they now understand why I fight in VA. Perhaps now they truly understand why I told them that taking my marriage certificate and fighting for recognition in VA could have been bad in the fight against Prop 8 -- guess its passage wasn't impossible after all.
Welcome to a taste of life in the rest of the United States.
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The DC March for Equal Rights is a sign of support for CA LGBT. For you, for me, and for the Future, I will march.
When: Saturday, 11/15 at 1:30 P.M. EST
Where: Capitol Reflecting Pool in front of the US Capitol Building and we'll march to the White House.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=47698021210&ref=share
http://jointheimpact.com/protest-locations/
Sadly, the United States LGBT community will not have learned. We will not make a more concerted effort to reach out to our constituency and allies. We will not coordinate our efforts to maximize results and minimize repercussions. We will not take our message to non-traditional territories. It's easy to campaign at the local Pride Festival or gayborhood. It's time to take our message to the BET and Univision's of the world. It's time for Ellen to be on Oprah. It's time to unite in political action across the nation as our opponents unite against us.
LGBT havens like San Francisco are wonderful, but they isolate their denizens from 'the rest of the world.' Statements like "We have become the first state in US history to use our Constitution to take rights away from people" are sensational and marginalize those of us who live in states that have already defined marriage to be between heterosexual persons. As was suggested to me, perhaps Californian LGBT should move to VT or MA. Perhaps those who have made such naive suggestions now understand that running away is not the solution. Perhaps they now understand why I fight in VA. Perhaps now they truly understand why I told them that taking my marriage certificate and fighting for recognition in VA could have been bad in the fight against Prop 8 -- guess its passage wasn't impossible after all.
Welcome to a taste of life in the rest of the United States.
-----
The DC March for Equal Rights is a sign of support for CA LGBT. For you, for me, and for the Future, I will march.
When: Saturday, 11/15 at 1:30 P.M. EST
Where: Capitol Reflecting Pool in front of the US Capitol Building and we'll march to the White House.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=47698021210&ref=share
http://jointheimpact.com/protest-locations/