Kudos to the Obama transition for holding this meeting.
But if the repeal of DADT or DOMA was brought up by our community's leaders, it's not in this video.
Obama has promised both; both would be a watershed moment in our quest for full equality that would ultimately have tidal wave pro potion ripple effects on everything. The right sees this, that's why they are so afraid of it.
These are all good people, at that table, and I recognize all they have tried to do for our community. But it absolutely makes me cringe when I hear them asking for "protections." ENDA? Census questions? That's it?
As Andoni on Chris Crain's blog notes, the top LGBT vote-getting question to the Obama transition on the change.gov site has to do with our civil marriage rights, not ENDA or Hate Crimes. Marriage rights in top ten issues. ENDA and Hate Crimes, Not. It would be a great lost opportunity if our "leaders" didn't re-enforce that message.
I wish our leaders would stop begging for protections, and start demanding our rights.
4 comments:
I'd argue there's a right not to be fired from your job for reasons not related to your performance. ENDA belongs on the list along with marriage equality. And unlike marriage equality, we might actually manage to get ENDA.
Michael -- I'm not the only one who thinks our leadership is setting the bar too low:
http://www.davidmixner.com/2009/01/lgbt-rights-time-for-some-new-thinking.html
I'd imagine my bar is higher than either yours or David Mixner's. Because I want ENDA, I want hate-crimes legislation, I want DOMA repealed, DADT undone, the sodomy provisions stricken from the UCMJ, marriage equality, the right to have LGBT partnerships recognized for immigration purposes in exactly the same way that heterosexual partnerships are. In short, I want all the civil rights and legal privileges of every other citizen.
I don't hear any of the gay-rights organizations asking for half of that (which is why I don't give them any of my money). And I'm damn sure Obama isn't going to deliver much of it.
You wrote:
In short, I want all the civil rights and legal privileges of every other citizen.
And I say:
I agree with that.
Post a Comment