Why haven't we had one recently? In light of everything that is going on & the psuedo-religious right is trying to keep us as second class citizens, I'm really surprised and shocked no one has started to organize a march in DC.

Robin Tyler, an activist who was central to the 2000 march on DC, has already called for another one in 2008, although I don't sense that the torch has been picked up by many others. The debacle of the 2000 march (which nonetheless helped this DC-ite come out), including thousands missing and issues of corporate sponsorship, etc, really has turned people off to such events.

Personally, I don't think another march of gay people likely isn't what we need right now - but a march of our families and friends could be a huge deal. If we were to get millions of straight people to demonstrate on our behalf, to show their support for our lives, that could provide a key message to politicians.

Won't hold my breath, however.

Thought I'd see if anyone had begun a thread on this weekend's National Equality March, and only found this exchange between Allen and myself from a couple of years ago. Don't know what ever happened to Robin Tyler's march (she was likely too involved in the Prop 8 fight to worry about it), but we definitely have another march coming up this weekend. It has not been well-publicized, at least IMHO, but as a DC resident, I certainly welcome all fresh meat equality activiists to DC.

Who's going, who thinks it's crazy, who's attending the Sirius/XM OutQ meet-and-greet next Saturday night?

National Equality March

I just saw this online and view it as welcome news. I look forward to hearing what President Obama has to say.

I hope lots of Outsporters are going to this march, particularly the ones in the D.C. area. Take pictures, give us your eyewitness reports. It's bound to be moving... and fabulous!

Many in the Broadway community are going down from NYC to join the march, including the cast of the revival of Hair led by openly gay star Gavin Creel. (Hair is cancelling it's Sunday matinee performance so that the cast can go down to D.C.)

Is this event being televised or streamed on the Internet? Does anybody know?

Indeed Obama's got some 'splainin' to do at the HRC dinner the night before the march. A speech may not be enough, as I think he will get it from some factions in the community. Will he dare show up at the event, or send somebody (Hillary? Michelle?) to speak on behalf of the gov't and make some kind of pledge or promise?

We need numbers (and fabulousity!) to make the news, so get out there guys. It's a fight for equality. And we shall overcome.

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National Equality March Facebook page

National Equality March Twitter page

Senate majority leader Harry Reid supports the National Equality March

Lady GaGa is going to be there (that should make Johnny Weir happy )

I don't particularly look forward to what he has to say unless it involves something major and policy-related. The speech will undoubtedly be inspirational, but who cares? The fact is that the Obama administration has disappointed spectacularly on gay rights issues. Hopefully the GLBT money spigot will dry up in 2010 and 2012 and they'll be forced to grovel (read: keep their promises). I'm not holding my breath.

Altho I don't have much to complain about Obama about non-gay issues, I have to agree w/ boomer on this one. Imho his record w/ our community is a D-. Lots of rhetoric but very lil action.

I won't be at the march, nor am I big fan of HRC (I really think they're ineffectual -- the battle for gay rights is a state by state endeavor, not something to be done on a national level, IMO).

I think Obama has plenty on his plate and gay rights just isn't (and honestly, can't) be his top priority. We ALL need the economy to get better, we ALL need sensible healthcare legislation, as ALL need a change in our diplomacy. If Obama spends anytime drawing lines in the sand over gay rights issues, he can pretty much assure that anything he proposes on a number of important (vital) matters facing the country will be met with stony opposition from a lot of people in this country.

Anyhow, I think gay people should keep pressure on Obama, but his being in office has at least changed the tone in Washington. I don't hear many calls for federal amendments and I don't foresee anyone in the White House expressing hatred of gays. I'm not saying we should be Uncle Toms (Auntie Toms?), but Obama's got bigger priorities that need immediate rectifying. So, yes, I am somewhat happy we're not the object of public scorn like under Bush. That's a start. It's not enough, but I'll grant Obama a couple of years to work on vital national matters before I start getting frustrated that he hasn't undone 200+ years of anti-gay sentiment in our country.

We have to accept that it will take time to overturn DADT and other government policies if we expect them to be a permanent shifts in national attitude. I truly think that (unlike during the Bush years) there are people working both within the administration and the Pentagon to build a consensus for the reversal of DADT. If Obama wrote an executive order today, he's have a lot of trouble on his hands in the Dept. of Defense, Republicans would go ape-sh*t batty, and he'd probably have to start practicing Jimmy Carter-like concession speeches.

I think what you'll see is a more meaningful movement to repeal DADT when the administration can convince enough in the Pentagon that it's time. There will be (for the first time) an open call to repeal the policy in an armed services newspaper editorial. Did any of us think that would happen in Bush's years? Clinton's? Not.

Part of what makes me like Obama is that he's the opposite of what his accusers think of him: he's no firebrand. He's not overly forward leaning. He's seen the mistakes others have made and he's quite conservative in his temperment. He will do the right thing, but it's going to take some time to get there all the way.

I'll be in DC but not for the march. I'll be there for a softball tournament. Weather is iffy. If games are rained out I'll be somewhere watching NFL games or the MLB playoffs.

I think marching on DC is too much of the same old, same old. I'd rather see millions of gays marching on Salt Lake City or some other anti-gay location in the heartland.

Thanks for the support, Barney.


Participants at the post-march rally include:

"After the march, a rally at the Capitol will feature more than 30 speakers -- including the march’s co-chairmen, longtime gay rights activist Cleve Jones and Lt. Dan Choi, who was kicked out of the Army earlier this year after saying he was gay. Also set to speak is NAACP chairman Julian Bond, who has often likened the gay rights movement to the civil rights movement, and Judy Shephard, the mother of a gay teen who was brutally murdered in Wyoming in 1998."

Not a whole lot of pre march media coverage I must say. I would tend to agree with what Frank said. The best way to put pressure on your elected official is to make contact, over and over if necessary. I have become something of an activist now that I belong to AARP, and have been dealing with the health care reform and contacting elected officials, writing letters to the editors, speaking with physicians etc. etc. I feel like I am making more progress than I would if I said I was going to be in a march, but hey have fun to all those who get involved. Thats the key thing, to get involved!

"Obama has plenty on his plate" has become such an apologist catch phrase lately. Just select any broken campaign promise or idealogy, and chalk it up to his full plate. I never thought I'd read something on a gay message board that even hinted that gay rights aren't important, nor vital, let alone coming right out and saying it. I guess they're only important when the other party doesn't deal with them.

Wow.




Do any of us think we'll be getting it any time soon with this administration? Not. (Yeah, 1991 called...it wants its slang back) . And for once I'd like to hear an argument made for Obama without GWB and Sara Palin being mentioned. Everyone knows they're idiots, and that they have nothing to do with Obama not getting things done.

But again, the excuses are more liberally (pun intended) applied. It's amazing how we have to give this administration more time.



Yes, he's not "overly forward leaning"...in other words, he doesn't try that hard. So let's give him a Nobel Peace Prize and more time while Iraq and Afghanistan keep brewing, while the economy still sucks, and gay rights still don't seem to get anywhere. I mean, seriously, cut the poor guy some slack.

Why is Obama speaking before the self-serving organization better known as the HRC?

Becuz they're the largest glbt organization...

Wow! This is interesting.

I definitely think we gays need to keep the pressure on Obama to make sure he follows through on DADT repeal and repeal of the DOMA. Bottom line is that until they are both repealed, its a promise not fulfilled. I do think that it will come in time though. He's already done more for gays than any other President and I will be watching closely. I think that the repeal of DADT will come before the repeal of the DOMA.

I think the weather's supposed to be good today in D.C. Hopefully there will be a good turnout on the march. I found this map on the Washington Post website:



NY Times: Debate Over Gay March Exposes Split in Approach

NY Times (1983): MARCH FOR GAY RIGHTS; Gay Marchers Throng Mall in Appeal for Rights

George Stephanopoulos said this morn that the repeal of DADT will be done but not soon. He basically said that the prez has too much on his plate right now, especially cuz both wars are @ the pt where everyone is asking "What should we do next? Pull out or go ahead w/ the surge in Afghanistan?" He said that the repeal of DADT right now would add another strain/distraction to both Obama & the military, which he/they don't need. I'm just relaying what George said & not necessarily agreeing w/ his analysis, but I understand the logic of his argument.

Twitter hashtag for the National Equality March is #nem. Search #nem on Twitter to see peoples' latest tweets and pics. Example.

Another crowd pic. More. More.

Crowds gathering in front of the Capital.

Jon Stewart had the right answer the other night to "Obama has plenty on his plate":

GET A BIGGER PLATE!

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-octo...-after-tomorrow

LOL! I love Jon.

Loved his "sexual duality" comment & reaction.

LOL, that was funny. I have to admit, I'm glad to see more and more criticism from supporters on both sides of the aisle finally telling Obama that it's time to start living up to so many of those campaign promises. People on the left (or even near the center) administering that kind of critique I think will have much more weight than the blow-hards on the right, because it won't be viewed as politically driven.

I also agree he needs a "metaphor czar."

It's streaming live on C-SPAN right now.

AP video from the march.

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According to Joe in Philly's tweets he's at the National Equality March and making out with Lady Gaga! (I hope I got that last part wrong. )

Equality Across America's Flickr photostream from the march.

Huffington Post photos.

NY Times photo slideshow.

CNN photo slideshow.

That was funny too!

My husband and a group of 10 other people including my mum all went to the GLBT or LGBT march Sunday. It was heaven. Seeing so many people for tolerance was breathtaking. I loved it. But Barack obama has sadly not fullfilled his promises to the glbt populace.