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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13800
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Marching creates a sense of community, of pride in one's self.
The march may do very little. Writing a letter may do more. Doing both is certainly best. But marching starts to show other people how many LGBT folk will stand up and be counted. And the other people are the folk who matter.
Will the march do a darned thing in congress?
Not a hope in hell.
But it may start to make a few folk who need education start to understand.
And your elected representative?
Well they want re-election. They go where the votes are. And showing them a large peaceful march, that says that pink votes matter.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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This march has been widely critised within the greater LGBT community, in fact, my colleague New York Times correspondent Jeremy Peters said this in his Oct 9th article entitled,"Debate Over Gay March Exposes Split in Approach;"
"It was meant to be a unifying show of strength at a critical juncture in the gay rights movement. But a march planned for Sunday on the Mall in Washington is exposing deep divisions among gay rights advocates around the country as they grapple with whether to continue pushing for gains state by state, or embrace a more aggressive strategy to pressure the Obama administration and Congress for federal action.
The march is occurring as referendum campaigns in Maine and Washington State seek to overturn laws that expand the rights of same-sex couples. Faced with the specter of a defeat similar to the passage of Proposition 8 in California last year, gay rights advocates have split over whether an undertaking as large and expensive as a march on Washington will come at the expense of ballot fights this fall.
The debate around the march — the first mass gathering of gay rights supporters in Washington since 2000 — suggests that as the AIDS crisis has receded, gay activists have had a more difficult time mobilizing around a more diffuse agenda, including issues like same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws."
{http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/us/10march.html?_r=1&hp}
I have interviews from a half dozen of influential persons in the LGBT community, and although they disagree as to the overall effectiveness and impact of this march especially with the Hill not in session, they still like Tim, point out that from a purely personal point of view, agree that the march will have a positive effect on its participants.
I can also tell you from my experience as a member of the Washington Press Corps working in this town for the past nearly 15 years, that Representative Frank is a bit of a "drama queen" which he'll cheerfully admit to.
[Updated on: Sun, 11 October 2009 00:37] |
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In my opinion, one of the most successful gay organisations in the UK is the Stonewall lobby group. By quiet private approaches to sympathetic legislators of all parties they have created a climate of opinion at Westminster that has been through the arguments and on the whole adopts a sensible attitude to homosexual equality.
I don't know whether there is an equivalent in the USA. If there isn't one is needed because my perception is that the USA is now well behind most european countries on gay equality. And they started well ahead and in some areas such as PFLAGs and GSAs in schools are still ahead.
Stonewall are currently trying to stop bullying of gay children in schools and I think they are beginning to have an impact. I support them with a monthly donation. It's no good writing to my MP. He's gay and does what he can!
Love,
Anthony
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STONEWALL UK's American counterpart is the Human Rights Campaign, [http://www.hrc.org/]
The Human Rights Campaign was founded in 1980, with a goal of raising money for congressional candidates who supported fairness. In the years that followed, the organization established itself as a resilient force in the overall movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights as it strived to achieve fundamental fairness and equality for all.
A Historical Snapshot
In 1980, Steve Endean, an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, founded the Human Rights Campaign Fund to raise money for pro-fairness congressional candidates. In that era, several extremist right-wing groups, including the Moral Majority and the National Conservative Political Action Committee, were gaining notoriety, and HRCF was created in part to counter their anti-gay tactics.
Over the decades that followed, the Human Rights Campaign — which dropped the word “Fund” from its name in 1995 — expanded its mission and became a leading player in the pro-equality movement nationwide. It lobbied for fair-minded legislation in Congress, worked alongside corporate America to gain needed protections for LGBT workers and spread the message of equality to every corner of the country.
Some Notable Accomplishments of the Human Rights Campaign:
In its first major electoral effort in 1982, HRCF donated $140,000 to 118 congressional candidates. Eighty-one percent of those candidates went on to win.
In 1986, HRCF and its allies stopped right-wing attempts to revoke a law that aided HIV-positive Washington, D.C., residents.
In 1990, following HRCF’s lobbying, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects people with HIV and AIDS from discrimination.
In 1992, HRCF endorsed Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in the presidential race. After Clinton’s victory, HRCF’s executive director took part in the first meeting between LGBT leaders and a sitting president.
In 1995, HRC created its Workplace Project, which fights for fair-minded workplace policies in corporate America.
In 1997, HRC ran public service announcements on LGBT equality during the landmark coming out episode of the sitcom “Ellen.”
In 1998, following the murder of Matthew Shepard, HRC led the national movement supporting hate violence legislation to protect LGBT Americans.
In 1999, thanks to HRC’s lobbying, the Senate passed a major hate crimes bill.
After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, HRC worked to ensure that survivors’ same-sex partners received federal relief funds.
In 2002, HRC launched its Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program to meet the unique needs of LGBT students of color.
After a Massachusetts court ruled in favor of marriage equality in 2003, HRC sent staff and funds to the statewide pro-fairness movement.
Twice — in 2004 and 2006 — HRC led the successful fight against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have banned marriage for LGBT families.
In 2005, HRC launched its Religion and Faith Program to reclaim the faith-based debate over LGBT issues from the radical right.
In 2006, thanks to HRC’s policy work, two key provisions in the Pension Protection Act ensured financial protections for same-sex couples.
In the 2006 elections, following HRC’s voter mobilization efforts, more than 200 pro-equality candidates won their races, resulting in a fair-minded majority in the U.S. Congress.
In 2007, the Religion and Faith Program gathered more than 230 religious leaders from across the country and from every faith tradition for a hugely successfully Clergy Call for Justice and Equality. The religious leaders converged on Capitol Hill to raise public awareness about the need for Congress to pass legislation to combat hate-motivated violence and to ban workplace discrimination against LGBT Americans.
In 2007, after HRC's considerable lobbying and a huge public outreach effort, both houses of Congress passed hate crimes legislation for the first time. The threat of a presidential veto ultimately prevented the measure from becoming law.
In 2007, six of the leading Democratic presidential candidates participated in the first-ever televised presidential forum devoted to LGBT issues. HRC co-hosted the event.
In 2007, HRC launched the first Healthcare Equality Index, which rates the nation's hospitals on a set of baseline standards of patient care for LGBT Americans.
In 2008, HRC participated in the first-ever congressional hearing exclusively on the issue of workplace discrimination against transgender Americans. President Joe Solmonese and Business Council members Meghan Stabler and Diego Sanchez provided testimony as part of HRC's efforts.
In 2008, HRC helped prepare witnesses for the first congressional hearing to review the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy since it was enacted in 2003.
In 2008, HRC engaged in the largest electoral campaign in the history of the organization - we launched Year to Win, an aggressive $7 million election effort to mobilize and motivate millions of LGBT and allied voters, and helped to elect more than 200 pro-equality congressional candidates.
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Re: Marching does something else 
