I didn’t wake up the morning of May 26th with the intention of getting arrested, but in many ways, it was a long way coming.

Ever since I understood what being gay meant, I’ve been an advocate for LGBT rights.  But as a woman who will be
marrying her male partner in the fall, the question of my role of being an effective ally in the LGBT movement has become a daily consideration.

I was equal parts outraged and crestfallen when the majority of voters on November 4th decided “only marriage between a man and a woman should be valid or recognized in California.” In my heart, I have always known that my love isn’t any more valid nor my relationships any more deserving of recognition than those of my queer friends. And yet I find myself living in a world that seems to pit heterosexual love against homosexual love at every possible moment.

After the election, I decided more than ever that I didn’t want to live with those rules anymore. I discussed the prospect of civil disobedience with a friend of mine who was helping organize a contingency plan in case the Supreme Court decided to uphold Proposition 8 the morning of the 26th.

In fact, I labored over the decision, but I went to sleep the night of the 25th with what I felt was a decent compromise position – I’d attend the ruling and the rally with my camera and audio recorder in tow so that – if nothing else – I could at least serve as a witness to history.

Shortly after 9AM, The Supreme Court announced its position to uphold Proposition 8. The crowd erupted into a highly organized yet adrenaline-fueled march to a nearby intersection and I, eagerly and equally outraged, followed.
You see, although political down to the bone – rebellion doesn’t really come naturally to me. Even with the protesters blocking the entire intersection, I still had to consciously reason that it was in fact acceptable to technically defy the glowing red hand traffic signals in walking through the crosswalk.

Shortly after, I ran into my friend who I had contemplated civil disobedience with days earlier. He was standing defiantly in the intersection, hands interlocked with other protesters, tears streaming down his face. In all of the discussions and worse case scenario planning, he was struggling to come to terms with the brutal reality of the verdict. I gave him a quick hug and shuffled off, feeling horrible that I couldn’t offer him more comfort in that moment.

My heart pounded as I watched the police descending from the sidewalk. As I stood there, I reflected on the experiences of so many of my friends in high school. Surviving frequent verbal, and occasionally physical, attacks based on their sexual orientation – presumed or otherwise. I remembered feeling so powerless in those moments, wishing I could at least have been with them in those moments to stand up for them – and in some ways, for myself.

I’m older now, and apparently braver. After nearly an hour of milling along the sidelines, I joined my friend and planted myself alongside him on the hot concrete.

The police took their time as they worked their way down the line of protesters one by one, slowly escorting each one in plastic handcuffs to the awaiting gender-segregated paddy wagons. Hands tied, address recorded, jewelry removed, I was seated in the back of the metal cage.

Shortly after, I was joined by two women roughly my age – friends – one straight and married, another marrying her female partner in the fall. They were so delighted to have been placed in the back of the car together, so that if nothing else, they could share the experience together.

I was one of 211 people arrested that day. And although my actions didn’t change the legality of same-sex marriage in this state, it changed the way I saw myself and my role as an ally within this movement.

More than anything, I learned that sometimes sitting down next to a friend can be a radical act.

At the outset, an alliance between the LGBTQ community and organized labor may seem to be a topical alliance of two progressive causes, but breaking down each movement to its underlying principles reveals a shared philosophy that makes such an alliance not only natural but necessary.

The current gay rights movement is fighting for marriage, housing and job security, tax breaks, medical benefits, the ability to take care of our partners and our children, dignity and equal recognition, and all of the advantages that comes with the stability provided by an economic and legal system that supports us just as much as it supports anyone else.

Organized labor, in seeking to leverage the power of unions, seeks much of the same: fair wages and work practices, job security, medical benefits, dignity and equal recognition, and all of the advantages provided by the stability of an honest days work for an honest days pay.

he progress made on these issues over the past decades has been made by working in coalition with other groups that recognize the need for all people to have access to equal rights, protection and opportunity under the law. There is power in coalitions built around these causes–power to cause real, fundamental change in our lives and our communities. As part of a coalition of social causes, we either stand together for socioeconomic justice or are systematically denied it from one community to the other.

Labor, in particular, has been a staunch and steady supporter of the gay rights movement–just look at its efforts in passing ENDA and its work in California to oppose Prop 8.

And now Labor finds itself in need of allies. The Employee Free Choice Act making its way through Congress is more than another progressive cause, it is the biggest chance to cause real, lasting change for millions of workers in the United States to come in decades. It is repealing Prop 8. It is repealing every homophobic amendment passed in every state constitution. It is the chance to pass legislation that will lift millions of workers onto the path for a better life for themselves and their families.

The need for a strong coalition on this issue makes sense on matters of politics and matters of principle. The LGBTQ community should throw all of its weight behind EFCA not only as a group that asks and expects the support of other progressives but also as a group so terribly familiar with the fight for social and economic justice. Who are we to deny our support from providing those rights and protections to anyone else?

[re-posted from suqzi.com]

It’s one thing for the Bigots (as I will refer to them from now, even the fence-sitters, because if it’s not the life you choose for yourself, it’s none of your business to be taking it away from others) to use fear-mongering tactics to imply that homosexuality

a) is a disease (that WILL get your children)
b) is a moral wrong, not to be condoned by the state and
c) will lead to extinction of the human race.

It’s quite another thing for them to be using framing about the rights being taken away from Gd-loving straight folks. Protect marriage. Save marriage. From what? duh.

And then I see shit like this, where they bring in McCarthyism: http://www.busttheblacklist.com/ Saying that companies that chose to support the Yes on 8 Campaign are being harrassed and are in dire need of our patronage, to show that we support their dirty money-injecting tactics. Fuck that!

More fun from Nation for Marriage:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

‘Rainbow Coalition’? Are f-ing serious? That’s OUR symbol! No fair.

And what does gay marriage have to do with doctors? Maybe being forced to let hospitalized folk be visited by the ones they love, even if you think its gross? Your faith should have nothing to do with your practice, doc. Sorry to say.

UPDATE: So the case actually had something to do with a doctor who refused to artificially inseminate a gay lady. I’m now reading the background on this video and it makes me laugh to tears.

Read it Here

Here’s a good one:

“parents of young elementary school students objected to curriculum and class room discussion meant to inculcate in the children the idea that there are no differences between the marriages of men and women and those involving same-sex couples.”

Hmm, differences? What differences? Could it be that most straight marriages these days are not living up to their historical expectations, while gay marriage is perhaps motivated by something more genuine? Blame divorce. Blame the condom for breaking. Blame Disney. Blame the individualistic American free spirit. Don’t blame the gays for that. Don’t even go into biology, it’s pretty much a fact that there is evidence of homo- and bisexuality in the animal kingdom. Don’t talk about the one thing that fits in the other thing… we don’t need marriage to do that! AND, it’s a well known fact that after a few years of marriage the sex stops anyways, right? (ha!). So.

And another:

“But some who advocate for same-sex marriage have not been content with same-sex couples living as they wish.”

As they wish? They wish to get married, dumbass. I mean sure, gay culture is gay culture and people have the right to assimilate into the mainstream or define themselves otherwise. That doesn’t give you homo-haters the right to ostracize us.

Ok, ok, last one, promise:

“Those advocates want to change the way I live. I will have no choice.”

umm, yeah. you will have no choice but to stop living in your tiny bubble of fear and ignorance. I’m not trying to sound like Gavin Newsom here, but gay marriage is inevitable. It really is. And that’s all that’s giving me hope these days. The thought that our country can support love over fear.

~The Suz

p.s. On a lighter note (which we all need sometimes, because it is about the love, after all), have i ever told you how much i love Wanda Sykes? ‘cuz i do.

As day two of the march to sacramento winds down the United Church of Christ building in Antioch is buzzing with all the left over and newly created energy of today.  We began our morning thanking our supporters at the Mt. Diablo UU church and walking off into Walnut Creek. After marching for sometime on grassy dirt paths the group climbed our first hill of the day. As we crested its gentle summit we came upon a seemingly endless field of flowers. At that point no one got to comment on its beauty before we were all running through the flowers. All puns aside, this was an amazing example of how we ALL want freedom to do what we are passionate about and what motivates us. As we proceeded through Walnut Creek and Concord we were met with honks from well wishers and excited energy. If anything, what I will remember about walnut creek were all the people who had seen us in the papers and took the time out of their day to say hello.
Another great story from today was at a point when we reached out to a passerby for a bit of navigation assistance, needless to say we were a bit lost. The woman, named Cindy, that stopped and gave us some pointers had also seen media coverage of our efforts. She said she was proud of us, which was the best energy boost we could have asked for. Kip “Twitter Toes” Williams, one of our organizers and Tweeters, immediately  tweeted a story about our encounter. About an hour later Kip checked his computer to find an email from Cindy describing how she saw her picture on the website and had then made a donation so that we may travel more comfortably! Freakin’ awesome! Cindy was a diamond in the hills!
As we neared Antioch, the hills seamed to grow with us and our spirits. We were practically floating as we left the paved streets for the mountain trails, unaware of how far vertically we wold be traveling! Shortly into the trails we were all grounded when one of our beautiful pace setters, affectionately name “Thing 1″, was greeted by a rattle snake. I was reminded we are just passing through these lands and we are the guests. We continued onwards and upwards for over a mile before we took our first hill side break. We sat, shaded by one of the many Oak Trees that give name to this area of California. We all spoke about activism and rested. At the sound of a distant moo, we started up climbing the slopes of the last mountains between us and Sacramento.
We had been spending sooooooo much time walking from the top of one hill, down to the bottom and back up again; all the while repeating that we can only walk to the always nearing tippy tops of these hills and that would be the last peak we ascend. As we approached the second and tallest of our peaks I blindly slurred the phrase “We are not just marching straight to Sacramento, we are going to touch the sky first”, not quite knowing the implications of what that meant.
We may have physically touched the sky much earlier in the day, but for many of us the highlight of today was a touching and teary “story share” involving our marchers and our host family at the United Congregational Church of Christ in Antioch. I can’t do justice to explaining what really happened to night but I know what people initially took from this meeting. Healing, sharing and insight  were some of the many take-aways tonight at our meeting with a church that is very freshly scarred by the fight for gay rights.

Our most important hope for this march was to build bridges between the LGBT community and the religious/ spiritual community that was blamed for the passing of Prop 8. This constructed conflict and others like it perpetrated against communities of color and other marginalized people is a way to fuel oppression. We got closer to the sky this evening then ever before, I am proud to be a queer person who can connect with a group of church goers who have been equally affected by LGBT rights and the struggle for solidarity and community.
If you see us in the streets keep the love coming!

I am also proud to say it is all up hill from here!

Maya, 16
Santa Cruz, Ca

Steppin’ out from the Castro, it was 6:15am; not the first time that as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence i had ever been walking down market street headed towards San Francisco City Hall.  Today however, my march would not end there, nor at the Embarcadero: today’s march would continue beyond the Bay Bridge, and even beyond the campagnile of the UC Berkeley campus.  Today’s march ended at 7:30pm with an incredible dinner & welcoming reception with the First Universalist Unitarian church of Walnut.  For anyone not familiar with the area, about 17.5 miles from my starting point in SF much earlier in the day.

Already, in short time, I realize the value and the importance of having made the commitment to join and support OneStruggle, OneFight in November of last year.  During tonight’s dinner (delicious UCWC- kudo’s again!!) I shared the fact that i felt that there were already too many things to need to process through a bit, or even try to remember long enough to record in my written notebook.  So, shortly, and to leave interested readers with opportunity of learning from others that are marching, i would like to summarize two simple themes (or, as my fellow sisters would tell you, two maeJoy strong opinions) about love & marriage.

First, if i have learned anything from being my work as a sexual health educator the last 13 years, it is that fruitful, long term, evolving relationships are not solely based upon sex alone. in fact, they are not only based upon sharing checkbooks, or picking up toothpaste on the way home from work.  They are based upon a commitment to practice a love that is patient, and a love that is kind.  In face, it is the practice of this type of love that enables these relationships to endure all things. Marriage is not just about an individual’s sexuality.  Our nation’s “just say NO” philosophy has created a society that “just doesn’t KNOW” how to dialogue about sexuality. As a nation just barely 225 years old, let’s get beyond sex and evolve into a more mature wisdom that is more “young adult” than teenager.

As human beings we must all work together to realize that we all are born with the gift of being able TO LOVE, and that is is the action verb of LOVING that as babies we tap into and practice almost immediately. It is only later on that individuals are introduced to a concept of difference, which tags onto fear and gets misinterpreted by false judgment that they begin learning how to hate. Globally, there is no love that is different, and there is no love that is any less significant that those that I march with, those that honk in show of support, or those that drive by, flip me off and then choose to return back to drive by us two more times in order to flip me off some more and add on a few more verbal bashing centered from their fear and hate. We are all pink on the inside.

I can’t speak for the group, however i strongly believe without doubt that we will endure our marching onward towards the open doors of the United Church of Christ in Antioch, CA, tomorrow night, and even further to the steps of the capitol building for the great state of California. I end with just the one strong opinion and will hopefully be able to share the second one that I mentioned prior at another blog time in the future.  It is late, and maeJoy’s dogs are tired (she was in heels for this first stint folks) and they are turning the lights out on her.

I gotta conclude though by expressing gratitude of tremendously HUGE proportions to each and every supporter that smiles and extends a thumbs up, that honks in solidarity with what we are doing, that sends an email from hundreds of miles away (as already many of you are doing), that stops and pulls out a case of water they have just purchased for us in learning we are walking through their city, or even comes up, introduces themselves and join us in our march until they must separate form us to pickup children, prepare dinner, or we reach their city limits,

THANK YOU!!  THANK YOU!!  this movement will change the world and the world will change because of the movement.  And special thanks to the motorocycle cop escort we had through the UC Berkeley campus and up the incline of Tilden Park): it was JOYous to have your assistance as I counted our steps the first hour of marching, and we all sang a long extended version of 10,000 pictures of LOVE on the wall, 10,000 pictures of LOVE.  Take another photo, hang it up on the wall, 10,001 pictures of LOVE on the wall.

always,

maeJoy B. withU
sister of perpetual indulgence

This afternoon, we gathered with about 100 folks at SF City Hall for a kick-off rally for the March to Sacto. Several of the marchers shared their stories, elected officials like Supervisor Bevan Dufty offered their blessings, and community leaders like Rafael Mandelman of the Harvey Milk Club and Paulie Schreck of COLAGE offered encouragement as well.

Our four keynote speakers really brought home our core message of connecting the struggle to repeal Prop 8 with the broader movement for peace and for social justice:

-Kate Kendell: Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. They’re the folks who led the charge into the CA Supreme Court to secure our rights last year, and they’re the same folks who charged right back into the Supreme Court in early March to win our rights back.

-Biko Baker: Hip-hop activist and Director of the League of Young Voters. He organizes with black youth in Milwaukee, and he’s a straight ally.

-Andrea Shorter: Director of And Marriage for All, organizing for marriage equality in commmunities of color. She also serves on the SF Commission on the Status of Women. This woman is amazing! She’ll be speaking at all of our key rallies during the March to Sacto.

-Cleve Jones: Does he need an introduction? Cleve is the founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and he’s been working for a long time to build bridges between the LGBT Community and the Labor Movement. He was a close friend of Harvey Milk, and Emile Hirsch looked *adorable* playing him in the film last year!

After the rally, the Brass Liberation Orchestra and the Raging Grannies helped us march from City Hall to the CA Supreme Court. And you know what? …

WE TOOK THE STREETS

Ok, it was only half a block, but we stopped traffic and marched (without a permit, of course!) to the steps of the CA Supreme Court, where we chanted and danced and rallied for our rights.

Our Movement is unstoppable, my friends. And whether the Supreme Court restores our rights or not…we will continue fighting until we have achieved full equality under the law, across the country and around the world!

Suzi, Willow, and I just went on Pirate Cat Radio to talk about OSOF, the March to Sacto, and the movement for LGBT equality. Check it out…

Last night, I was invited by our friends at Pride At Work to meet with the San Francisco Labor Council and share with them about One Struggle, One Fight and the March to Sacto.

The SF Labor Council represents more than 100,000 union members and their families who belong to over 150 affiliate unions. I met with their Executive Committee in a board room at the Plumber’s Building. It was definitely intimidating at first, meeting in front of the representatives of Organized Labor in San Francisco. But I was there with the blessing and support of Howard Wallace, a long time organizer of LGBT Labor, who represents Pride At Work on the Labor Council.

The members of the Council were extremely welcoming. When Howard introduced me, they all took time to introduce themselves and tell me about their respective unions.

I shared with them a bit of my personal story. I told them that I moved here from Tennessee about three years ago because, as a gay man, California was a place where I could be equal and free. The passage of Prop 8 last Novemeber was an attack on my hopes for what living in California would be like, and I’ve been working hard with the growing movement to repeal Prop 8.

But for us at One Struggle, One Fight, we don’t stop at marriage equality, or even at LGBT rights. We’re trying to build a movement of movements, and we want to be in solidarity with other struggles for social and economic justice. And it only makes sense…so many of us queer folk are working people ourselves, and we’re directly impacted by issues like healthcare and living wage. We’ve got expensive student loans that keep us in debt. And these issues are even more challenging for us than for straight people, because we don’t have the right to marriage and all of the economic benefits that come with it.

Howard Wallace introduced a resolution to the Labor Council, affirming that “an injury to one is an injury to all” and offering the Council’s official endorsement of the March to Sacramento to repeal Prop 8. And the best part…without a moment’s hesitation, the Council unanimously approved the resolution!

Harvey Milk reached out to Organized Labor to help build the movement for LGBT equality and civil rights. We are very proud to carry on in that tradition. Thanks much to the SF Labor Council for your support!

Milk, the movie starring Sean Penn about Harvey Milk, the first elected openly gay political figure in the United States, is up for a Best Picture award at the Oscars tonight.

As we’re reminded of Milk’s legacy, it’s important to also remember the efforts to get Harvey Milk Day passed as a state holiday. Equality California’s website says, “This bill would require the governor proclaim May 22 each year as Harvey Milk Day. It would encourage public schools and educational institutions to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on that date.”

Unfortunately, though the legislature approved the bill by a 45 to 23 vote, when it got to governor Schwarzenegger’s desk on September 30, 2008 he decided to veto it. One can only assume this was a sad effort to appeal to the Republican Party’s socially conservative base.

Let’s hope that one day, very soon, our state is able to officially recognize the contributions that people in the LGBT people have made to our history.

Here’s the trailer for the excellent documentary about Harvey Milk’s life, “The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.”

Also, check out Harvey Milk’s now famous “Give ‘Em Hope Speech.”