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An article I wrote for Wayves this month. Might not run, but I liked the stories and wanted to share in any case.
Across the United States and around the world on Saturday November 15, protests both large and small were held to promote equal marriage rights. They were organized informally and communally with tools like Facebook and email, and were a delayed reaction to the successful passage of multiple anti-equality ballot measures in the recent US election.
One of the primary groups working to harness the supportive crowds and energy is www.jointheimpact.com, which is in planning for their next coordinated event, www.daywithoutagay.org, which encourages individuals to "call in gay" to work, and devote their time elsewhere for a day.
The primary catalyst appears to be the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which passed with only about 52% support, but surprised much of the country and world which expected the more liberal western state to support equality and remain the second state in the US with marriage equality. At present, only Massachusetts and Connecticut have equal marriage, along with Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa, and Spain.
Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic, selected comments from the protests:
Vancouver: "Until the day comes when we have equal civil rights as our straight neighbors, thanks but no thanks. Canada is now our new home. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have equal civil rights under the law."
Las Vegas: "Well over 1,000 people rallied outside the Las Vegas GLBT Community Center."
Cummington, MA: "We gathered on the lawn of our local general store to protest Prop 8, stand up for marriage equality, and celebrate love. The grandparents held signs; the children danced; the dogs wore veils."
Toronto: "A little over 100 people braved the raw, wet day to stand in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue in Toronto to join their sisters and brothers in supporting the right to marry."
Missoula, MT: "Passers-by on Broadway were honking their horns & giving us the thumbs-up."
Chicago: "We even ran into one (straight) wedding party near the Hancock Tower that took some signs and held them up for us."
Amsterdam: "I can sponsor my next of kin – parents, children, spouses of my parents – for a green card, but not my wife. I can bring my dog to the US, but not my wife."
Greenville, SC: "As this is the center of the Bible Belt, we were unsure of what reaction we would receive from passing motorists and pedestrians. What a pleasant surprise, the only fingers displayed to us were in the shape of a V."
Santa Fe, NM: "'Marriage means something,' said one of the speakers. This speaker then told of the sudden death of his partner of thirty-four years. They had a trust; they had papers of all kinds; they had planned and prepared for every contingency - except for a lack of respect and regard for their 34 year commitment to each other. The funeral home insisted they could not cremate this man on the word of his partner of three plus decades; they needed an OK from a family member. No document, however legal, mattered on that loss and shock filled day after the unexpected death of this speaker's partner of 34 years - thirty-four years."
Andrew Sullivan added to the end of the story: "I remember a story told me during the AIDS epidemic. A man was visiting a friend dying in hospital. It was a grim scene, as it often was in those days. The next bed in the ward had a curtain drawn around it. And from behind that curtain, you could hear someone quietly singing. The man told his friend, "Well, at least that dude is keeping his spirits up, however sick he is." And the friend replied:
"Oh, that's not the patient singing. He died this morning. And his family came to collect the body. That voice you hear is the man's partner. The family didn't approve of his relationship and they have barred him from coming to the funeral and kicked him out of their shared home. That song he's singing is the song they called their own. It was playing when they met. He used to sing it to him all the time when he was dying."
"He's still singing it even though they've taken the body away. He's singing it to an empty bed. I guess it's the last time he feels he'll ever be close to the man he loved. They were together twenty years. The hospital staff don't have the heart to ask him to leave yet."
Until you have been treated as sub-human, it's hard to appreciate how it feels. We will not give up. And we will win in part for the sake of those who never made it to see this day."
I think we may be seeing the energy and engagement of the Obamaniacs still seeking a way to stay involved. I really hope so.
Across the United States and around the world on Saturday November 15, protests both large and small were held to promote equal marriage rights. They were organized informally and communally with tools like Facebook and email, and were a delayed reaction to the successful passage of multiple anti-equality ballot measures in the recent US election.
One of the primary groups working to harness the supportive crowds and energy is www.jointheimpact.com, which is in planning for their next coordinated event, www.daywithoutagay.org, which encourages individuals to "call in gay" to work, and devote their time elsewhere for a day.
The primary catalyst appears to be the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which passed with only about 52% support, but surprised much of the country and world which expected the more liberal western state to support equality and remain the second state in the US with marriage equality. At present, only Massachusetts and Connecticut have equal marriage, along with Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa, and Spain.
Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic, selected comments from the protests:
Vancouver: "Until the day comes when we have equal civil rights as our straight neighbors, thanks but no thanks. Canada is now our new home. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have equal civil rights under the law."
Las Vegas: "Well over 1,000 people rallied outside the Las Vegas GLBT Community Center."
Cummington, MA: "We gathered on the lawn of our local general store to protest Prop 8, stand up for marriage equality, and celebrate love. The grandparents held signs; the children danced; the dogs wore veils."
Toronto: "A little over 100 people braved the raw, wet day to stand in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue in Toronto to join their sisters and brothers in supporting the right to marry."
Missoula, MT: "Passers-by on Broadway were honking their horns & giving us the thumbs-up."
Chicago: "We even ran into one (straight) wedding party near the Hancock Tower that took some signs and held them up for us."
Amsterdam: "I can sponsor my next of kin – parents, children, spouses of my parents – for a green card, but not my wife. I can bring my dog to the US, but not my wife."
Greenville, SC: "As this is the center of the Bible Belt, we were unsure of what reaction we would receive from passing motorists and pedestrians. What a pleasant surprise, the only fingers displayed to us were in the shape of a V."
Santa Fe, NM: "'Marriage means something,' said one of the speakers. This speaker then told of the sudden death of his partner of thirty-four years. They had a trust; they had papers of all kinds; they had planned and prepared for every contingency - except for a lack of respect and regard for their 34 year commitment to each other. The funeral home insisted they could not cremate this man on the word of his partner of three plus decades; they needed an OK from a family member. No document, however legal, mattered on that loss and shock filled day after the unexpected death of this speaker's partner of 34 years - thirty-four years."
Andrew Sullivan added to the end of the story: "I remember a story told me during the AIDS epidemic. A man was visiting a friend dying in hospital. It was a grim scene, as it often was in those days. The next bed in the ward had a curtain drawn around it. And from behind that curtain, you could hear someone quietly singing. The man told his friend, "Well, at least that dude is keeping his spirits up, however sick he is." And the friend replied:
"Oh, that's not the patient singing. He died this morning. And his family came to collect the body. That voice you hear is the man's partner. The family didn't approve of his relationship and they have barred him from coming to the funeral and kicked him out of their shared home. That song he's singing is the song they called their own. It was playing when they met. He used to sing it to him all the time when he was dying."
"He's still singing it even though they've taken the body away. He's singing it to an empty bed. I guess it's the last time he feels he'll ever be close to the man he loved. They were together twenty years. The hospital staff don't have the heart to ask him to leave yet."
Until you have been treated as sub-human, it's hard to appreciate how it feels. We will not give up. And we will win in part for the sake of those who never made it to see this day."
I think we may be seeing the energy and engagement of the Obamaniacs still seeking a way to stay involved. I really hope so.
