Aug

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

If you were doing something that could change the face of equal rights forever, but got told you were wrong that the time is not right, would you stop even though you know what you are doing is right? What if you stood your ground and forged forward, but people questioned your motives and told you that you were being reckless? How about when you are starting to be successful despite all opposition, the very people and groups that opposed you now want to take center stage and join your effort? Do you let them join, even though it will cause unnecessary delays? Or do you tell them, to take an unofficial role and help you with the ground support?

Recently there was a summit of the larger GLBT human rights groups. It is no surprise the big discussion that took up 7 hours of everyone time was 2010 vs 2012 time frame for equality. There were two schools of thought;

Standing on one side of the thought process was Gay inc. (HRC, Lambda Legal, Equality California and a few more BIG DOGS) stating that they wanted to sit back and give it a rest for a bit and take up the issue again in 2012.

On the other side arguing the 2010 deadline, were the grass roots groups who actually do the work rather than just speaking about what should and shouldn’t be done and when it should be done. Many of these people volunteer their time with no prospect of a paycheck from their efforts. Their motives are pure and their heart is in everything they do.

Have we forgotten that Gay Inc got HUGE off of grass roots support? Have we forgotten that the only reason that Gay Inc is the “authority” on everything to do with Equality is that they were the first to take up the equality mantra. Now that many of the little guys that have been doing the ground work for Gay Inc have taken the torch and run with it, many in Gay inc are getting worried.

What could they possibly have to worry about you ask? lets see if we can explain a bit.

Most of the donations that Gay Inc has gotten over the last 20 years have been from the every day Lizzy the Lezzy’s, Garry the Gay’s, Terrance the Trans’, Bev the Bi’s and Harry the Heteroflexable’s in the hopes that we would gain equality for all. With the passage of marriage equality as a law, the DOMA laws and DADT laws will fall by the wayside. Let’s be honest if Marriage is made legal between same sex partners just as it is for opposite sex partners then the military cannot have a DADT law on the books, because… well … if same sex people can marry it will mean benefits for same sex partners, therefore you have to tell to get the benefits. Ok, so that means one hammer smashes 2 stones in one blow. But this also means that donations will drop as we don’t have something that the ground swell of people want so badly, that they are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

Now being that I (Wife) am a multiracial person as well as a lesbian, I am well aware that hatred will not go away, as fast as the disparaging laws do with the swipe of a pen. It takes generations to get rid of hatred. But Gay inc doesn’t get paid for getting rid of hatred. Gay Inc gets donations on the hopes of the little person that we will one day have equal rights and protections under the law.

Theodore Olson and David Boies realize this fact and because they realize it they are working within the law to change the law rather than lobby for donations. These two gentlemen are not looking for us to support them or their family, they saw a wrong and set out to make it right. Imagine that two straight men who realize that inequality anywhere is not what this nation stands for. These two fellas were treated as pariah’s when Gay inc found out what they were up to. Gay inc said it was too soon, that if these very smart men did not succeed that they would set back the work of Gay inc 20 years.

Wow set back 20 years…. that was a harsh statement to make since Gay inc has been on the job 30 years and we are not much closer to equality than we were in the 70’s. Sure we have a few states (6 to be exact) that allow marriage, but lets be honest folks without federal rights those state rights do nothing for us. We are married in CT but live in TN so in essence we are not married at all because in our state of residence it is not legal.

Olson and Boies have very graciously asked that Gay inc be denied access to the federal lawsuit that they have undertaken. Their reasoning? Well it is simple, they have stated that admitting new plaintiffs at this point would “needlessly delay the cases resolution”. Now for those of you that think they are up to something fishy and may not be out for “our” best interests…. Don’t turn against them just yet, as they have also requested that the conservative Campaign for California Families be prevented from joining the case in opposition, saying “the group also doesn’t have standing in the case”.

We may yet see equality in all 50 states because of the work these men are doing on our behalf. (not gay inc but on behalf of the little people.)

Now you may think that we are completely against gay inc because of this post. We are not completely against them, but what we are against is the idea that once momentum has set itself in motion you have to take a break to let people get used to the idea. HA if Martin Luther King had thought that we would still have segregation! WAKE UP PEOPLE!! It is really now or never as we have the best momentum we have ever had for equality. People are tired of the powers at be talking about what should be done and getting “so close” and stalling out. Honestly when Massachusetts got marriage on the books that should have been the jumping off point to sweep the country for equality, but instead we had to wait many years later to get the second state for marriage and now that state has lost the equality and we gained a number of DOMA laws that will be harder to get rid of.

Are we not tired of just talking about what we want?

Don’t we want someone to PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

If our president had done us like Gay Inc has we would have already impeached him, but we are still funding the miss deeds of Gay inc.

We are with Boies and Olson and believe the time is now or never, and that any inequality is wrong.

Lets stand on the side of the late Coretta Scott King and her late husband Rev Martin Luther King JR. Momentum is on the side of equality.

The late Coretta Scott King has been quoted as saying; “For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law…I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. My husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said,“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” On another occasion he said,“I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.” Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others. ”

The late great Martin Luther King has been quoted as saying;

“Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement,” he said.“Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions.”

Now all we have to do is get together and demaind equality for ourselves just as we did with Martin Luther King back in the 60’s to end inequality for black folks.

Can I hear an AMEN??

Go to http://www.hersbandandwife.com help us stand up for equality!

A few naysayers have said we are in this only for the money. WRONG we have never made a dime from anything we have done with Hersband and Wife. We work on what we believe in COMPLETTLY on a volunteer basis.

Also if you think that we are trying to get famous from anything we are doing, think again as H&W were already known back in 2006 by millions, so fame is not what we seek. EQUALITY IS!

Again Stand with us for Equality go to http://www.hersbandandwife.com and find out how you can help, it is time the ground swell demanded what we deserve. FULL EQUALITY FOR ALL!!

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