What turns a stay-at-home-mom into an activist? DOMA, or rather, the Department of Justice’s brief defending–no–exalting DOMA, was the last straw for this mom. We can quibble over how obligated the administration is to defend existing law, debate whether the brief was over-argued, or how appropriate the semantics of the brief were–but there is no denying one thing: citing case law on interfamilial marriage and child marriage as precedent in a brief that defends the exclusion of same sex couples from the institution of marriage is simply unacceptable. It isn’t so hard to understand how the schoolyard verbal abuse of LGBT youth, with taunts of ‘faggot’ or worse persists, when the Department of Justice can legally equivocate incestuous relationships with my twelve-year monogamous relationship without so much as a whimper from the White House.
“I’m tired of the silence from the White House. Jimmy Carter, you talked about human rights a lot…in fact, you want to be the world’s leader for human rights. Well, damn it, LEAD!!! There are some fifteen to twenty million lesbians and gay men in this nation listening and listening very carefully. Jimmy Carter, when are you going to talk about their rights?!” –Harvey Milk, speaking at the Gay Freedom Day Parade, June 25, 1978
Substitute the name and update the population in that quote and you could easily be tricked into thinking that the LGBT community has made no progress in thirty years. Of course that isn’t true, we have made extraordinary progress. I used to be a history teacher and I have the deepest sense of respect and appreciation for the elders in our community who have fought for decades, under far worse circumstances, so that I can stand here today and say without hesitation that I am absolutely unwilling to wait any longer for immediate, comprehensive, and unequivocal action by the federal government in providing full equality to its LGBT citizens. I want it all — marriage equality, the repeal of DOMA, the end of DADT and all forms of discrimination against LGBT servicemen and women, passage of ENDA, Hate Crimes legislation, and aggressive HIV/AIDs research and treatment funding.
I want it all, and I want it now.
The legacy of Harvey Milk reminds us that we will never simply be given power, we have to take it. We do not need to ask for our equality, we need to demand it — in each and every one of the 435 Congressional district offices in this country, then the White House itself. So I will march in Washington, DC, this October 10-11. I will not be satisfied with crumbs anymore, I deserve more — but more importantly — my children deserve more.
Yes, our children deserve more. This IS the civil rights movement of our time.
Thank you! I do believe as an Army Veteran, there should be changes made. I am a very openly gay woman. I was harrased in high school so much, that I moved to a different state. I want to be open, I want the same rights that every other american that is not gay/lesbian/trans etc gets…
It is hard because I fought for my country, but they sure as hell aren’t fighting for my rights.
I so agree with her. I have been with my partner for almost 5 years and we have a young daughter. I live in the midwest and I fear for my daughter when she starts school. I want protection for my family,..NOW!
They talk of us “destroying traditional marriage.” Traditional marriage has been..incestious..has been old men marrying young barely teen girls..so they really not even lean on “traditional marriage.”
I want my rights and protections, NOW! For my family and for my extended GLBT family!!
What do we do to get this for our children?! Please keep me included on whatever action you decide to take. I desperately want my children to have full equality. From one lesbian SAHM to another, I feel your pain and agony – let’s make this happen!
[...] capacity. And so since then I have kind of kept active in that arena and am now helping out in some very minor ways with promoting the National Equality March, scheduled for October of this year in Washington, DC. [...]