President Signs Hate Crime including Gays into Law

By Sr. Correspondent,  D. Kevin McNeir

When longtime gay activist and founder of the AIDS quilt Cleve Jones first started talking about a national march for gay equality about six months ago, many, including openly gay U.S. House Representative Barney Frank, said it couldn't be done and that it was a waste of time and resources. But as thousands of supporters, mostly young men and women barely able to vote, some straight but pledging their allegiance to their gay friends and relatives, charged into the nation's capitol, the message was clear - more Americans now believe that equal rights should be extended to LGBT citizens.

 
In fact, the National Equality March, a three-day event that took place during the recent Columbus Day Weekend, illustrated that grassroots efforts can still be effective in bringing about positive change.

"There were some who doubted if anyone would show up - I was not one of them," Jones said. "We [LGBTs] have existed in every culture, history and land since the beginning of time and we are here to say that we are equal in every respect. We have supported our country even when we were thrown out of the military and loved our church despite being defrocked or excommunicated. We refuse to accept any more compromises or delays."

Jones went on to criticize President Obama for not keeping his earlier promise to end several highly disputed policies and statutes including "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and DOMA.

"The President is known for giving wonderful speeches but he still has not answered the key question - when."

 

 
Sasha Bruce Youthworks and friends march to Congress in support of homeless youth as part of a series of events scheduled during the National Equality March in DC, Oct. 9, 2009.   Photo by Daniel Nicoletta

 

One of the most talked about events during the weekend's many activities and the speech to which Jones may have been referring was the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner where Obama served as the keynote speaker. The dinner was held on the eve of the March. In his address, he responded to the concerns of Jones and many of the other protesters who say they have waited for their rights for far too long.

"I will end "Don't ask-don't tell," Obama said to a crowd of over 3,000 at the gay civil rights advocacy group's most important annual assembly. "I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough. Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach."

Perhaps the actions of Jones and the surprisingly turnout on the lawn just behind the Capitol may have had more impact that anyone could have known. Earlier this week, the Senate approved a bill named for Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. that would make violence against gays and lesbians a federal hate crime. President Obama, as expected, signed the piece of legislation which includes penalties for assaults based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity, signaling a victory for civil rights groups that have long sought to expand the federal statute beyond attacks motivated by religion, race, color or national origin.

 

 
 
Friends and staff of C2AE pause the relish the moment.
Photo: Larry Bryant

 

Prior to signing the bill, also referred to as H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, Obama had this to say in a public statement:
"I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance - legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association."

And while the passage of this legislation is certainly good news for all Americans, the March for Equality remains proof positive that other rights for a portion of our population remain unsecured.

Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP and a long-respected civil rights leader, was the keynote speaker at the March - a surprise to some given the lack of formal support from his and other Black civil rights organizations.

"We are here to say yes to fairness, yes to justice and yes to civil rights," Bond said. "I believe gay rights are civil rights. And while we have some real problems in the United States, same-sex marriage is not one of them. Why are so many people tied up in knots about tying the knot? When others gain their rights none of ours are diluted. When others gain their rights they become my allies. People of color should be flattered that our tactics, heroes and strategies have served as a model for others. And we should realize that Blacks are not the only group that has suffered from discrimination.

 

 
 
Advocates for homeless youth in the shadow of the National Mall.
Photo: Daneil Nicoletta

 

"Like race, our sex is immutable and unchangeable and the Constitution protects us all. Many gays and lesbians helped me and Dr. King during the 1960s when we were fighting for the rights of Blacks. Should I now turn my back on them? No, just as they stood with me I must stand with them. But in the Black community homophobia and the refusal to talk about sex is the number one reason for the increase in HIV/AIDS. We can rollback DOMA and end discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"Forty-six years ago I on the other side of the Mall in another March and standing next to Dr. King was our organizer - a gay man named Bayard Rustin. It [change] must come and it is right that the old ways are crumbling. Let us leave here determined to fight on until it does."

Also on hand at the March was Staceyann Chin, an award-winning author, spoken word poet, performing artist and LGBT rights political activist.

"I march the tradition of those who have been on this lawn," she said. "I dream, I hope and I imagine and believe that change is not just possible but inevitable. The future must become a door through which we can all walk. Equality has to be more than a word or theory. Things always change as progress is the way of humanity. When the iron hand falls I want to be on the right side of equality and truth. I want to be able to say I was here."

Chin was only one of many recognized celebrities and LGBT activists that spoke during the almost four hour program including the outspoken bi-sexual vocalist Lady Gaga, Judy Shepard (mother of Matthew Shepard), Lieutenant Dan Choi (gay Iraq war veteran), Rev. Troy Perry (gay founder of Metropolitan Community Churches) and the cast from the Broadway hit show, Hair.
 
An unnamed warrior for gay rights raises the rainbow flag.
Photo: Larry Bryant

 

Some had gathered on a much chillier Saturday evening during an HIV/AIDS rally and vigil sponsored by the Campaign to End AIDS (www.campaigntoendaids.org, C2EA) whose purpose was to remember the millions of men, women and children who have lost their lives to AIDS and to remind the American public that for millions more, the battle continues.

"In the past we died and they did nothing," said Charles King, President/CEO, Housing Works. "Now we know more about the virus - and we have moved from it being a death sentence to a manageable life. Yet, one in seven African Americans in Washington, D.C. is infected. And it is estimated that half of all Black gay men are living with HIV. The death lists continue to grow both in the U.S. and around the globe including places like Haiti and South Africa where gays and lesbians face open hostility and neglect from their own countries, dying needlessly. But we remember the promise of President Obama who vowed that he would usher in change. However, the verdict is out as to whether he will keep his word. The end of AIDS is not an impossible dream. AIDS is our fight today."

As this writer walked along the route of the March, the chants were clearly audible, the marchers energized with hope. One interracial couple, Tiffany and Mike Newman, residents of the District, held up a sign that said "Our marriage was once illegal too."

"We had to come to lend our support in gays' and lesbians' fight for equal rights," they said. "Society is changing and people are changing too. The laws of our land need to evolve and reflect that change. We have suffered with prejudice and discrimination because of our love for one another. This march is about people mobilizing and getting out the word that this fight for gay rights is a similar fight - one that we as an interracial couple have waged and which African Americans have also fought."
Twenty-one year old Kayla Johnson, proudly wearing her "I Love Oregon" T-shirt said she was representing thousands of students and friends from Pacific University where she serves as the student co-director for the Center for Gender Equality.
"I came alone but felt I had to be here," she said.

 

 
Members of the Diva League (D.C.) strike a pose.
Photo: Larry Bryant

 

"I was inspired by Cleve Jones and because of the memories I have of studying abroad last year in South Africa. So many people are in the closet in South Africa living in fear. But then there is still so much inequality in our own country. One of my best friends is in the Air Force and gay. But he had to disconnect from his friends and his lifestyle in order to serve a country that he says he really loves. I am a bi-sexual woman who has felt alone for so long but today, with all of these people marching, chanting and celebrating, I don't feel lonely anymore."

One gray-haired African-American woman, Christina Wright, 71, marched with about 200 others - all part of a group called Standing on the Side of Love. Next to her was one of her best friends, Mark DeFrancis, a gay White man and father of two children. An unlikely pair perhaps-yet both were eager to share why they were participants in the March.

"I am part of the Unitarian Universalist Church and gay marriage and gay rights have been something we have been advocating for the past ten years," Wright said. "I am marching for my rights and as a multi-ethnic woman living in America, I want to be able to release my anger and make sure that no one is allowed to infringe upon the rights of others. Marriage is a major privacy issue and I cannot see where if two men or two women want to marry, how that hurts anyone else. I have members in my family who are gay and lesbian and I feel that as long as I am free, they too have the right to be free. I just don't want others to have to go through the pain and suffering that we Blacks endured before finally gaining equal rights under the law."
 
Working for housing options for those effected by HIV/AIDS are Christine Campbell and Larry Bryant, both of Housing Works, D.C.
Photo: Larry Bryant

 

The banners and posters that lined the street were telling and included such statements as "Marriage is a human right not a heterosexual privilege," We're here, we're queer, we want rights now," and "America needs a vaccine against homophobia."
But perhaps the best statement came from an image that this writer saw. Walking at a brisk pace was one young woman who was marching down Pennsylvania Avenue with her classmates in a sea of multiple colors, ages, sexual orientations, hairstyles and attire.

"I grew up in San Francisco so as you can imagine, I have a lot of gay and lesbian friends," said Tara Ohrtman, 18 and a freshman at Princeton University. "I have been at several Proposition 8 rallies and have already gotten involved at school. If nothing else, the 60s civil rights protests proved that when people speak out, when they march, when they tell their elected officials that they are dissatisfied, change comes. I'm here because I believe that the time for change has come. This is what democracy looks like."