Oct 28 2009

National March Crowd Like Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow sang in the musical THE WIZ, we are easing on down the road to a day when marriage equality will be a way of life in America. The only question is not 'when' but 'how long.' There is simply no question that the LGBT community and its allies will win this battle despite the constant ballot box bigotry that we have to face such as in Maine. No matter what happens in Maine, don't pause and don't let up. It is our passion and our commitment that will enable us to overcome those who live in a darker place.

The signs of change are everywhere.

Not long ago, we could not even get out of the low 20% range of those who supported marriage equality. Only Senator Ted Kennedy and a few others in the Senate supported our efforts. No state had officially passed marriage. The vote wasn't even close in state legislatures who strove to create apartheid type laws to deny us our rights and most liberals were silent. The issue of our freedom, at best, was considered a special interest group issue and at worst one not worthy of the fight. Even those in our own community were hesitant about pushing marriage and often agreed that not only was it a loser issue but it was all right for our straight allies to take a walk on the issue.

Then the calls of freedom started replacing the calls of patience. Thousands stood in the pouring rain in San Francisco to honor their relationship with marriage. Massachusetts became the first state to legalize marriage equality. Even in California, we came close to winning the battle over Proposition 8. Some of the most distinguished legal scholars in the country are taking cases to the courts of the land. The states of Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire and Connecticut joined Massachusetts. Soon we will see if marriage equality survives in Maine. Even there it is close which is a stunning shift in public opinion in just a decade.

Ben Smith of Politico pointed out that Senator Chuck Schumer, (D-NY) who long opposed marriage, sent a powerful political message out to all those who still step timidly about marriage in the Democratic Party. At the Empire State Pride Agenda dinner, Schumer was clear in his message to others and that includes the White House (the video is at the end of this piece):

"If Dick Cheney can support marriage, so can every senator. So can every Democrat, Republican, Liberal Conservative," Schumer told the Empire State Pride Agenda. "Equality should know no bounds, and we must not rest until we have marriage in all fifty of these United States."

Everyone knows now the nation's elderly are holding up the journey to our freedom. Straight young people are by our side and fighting for our freedom in the Congress, in the streets and against ballot box bigotry. One only had to look at the 200,000 who recently marched in Washington, DC to see the tens of thousands of straight and gay youth walking side by side for justice. The sight was one of the most inspiring in my lifetime.

Maine is neck and neck and it is so wrong that our freedom is even being voted upon by other Americans. No group has had more efforts to put restrictions on our freedom than LGBT Americans. Those who want to create a system of Gay Apartheid by fear, lies and appalling lack of compassion will not give up. However, no matter how things turn out in Maine, don't anyone, anywhere think for a second we have been stopped.

With a win, our journey is more easy and the path less burdensome. With a loss, we will only regroup and rethink how to move forward on all fronts: civil disobedience, at the ballot box, in the courts and in the media. Nothing ever will stop from being free. I promise you that. So give what you can to Maine by phone calls and money. Prepare yourself for either result. And the fight continues until as Senator Schumer says in the following video that marriage equality is a way of life in all fifty states.