My Speech on Federal Change from the Joliet Rally

I will have an update with links to pictures and video after they've been put online. In the mean time, I will say that we were a small group, but we were mighty. I hope this becomes an annual event, and perhaps we should have another one soon in Aurora to pressure Linda Chapa LaVia to vote yes on the Civil Unions bill.

Here's my speech on the kind of federal changes we need:

Many of us have been following the news on Prop 8 and been angry at how easily legislators, citizens, and courts can step on the rights of queer people. And because of all the protests and sit ins conducted in support of same-sex marriage, new states are legalizing same-sex marriage, and others such as ours are pushing to recognize those marriages and provide civil unions. But we must not accept separate as equal. Separate is not equal, and the marriage rights of LGBT people should not be left up to states and the whims of the majority. We need to call on our legislators and president Obama to act. We want marriage rights, and we want them now!

Obama has voiced his support of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which has allowed the federal government to skip out on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where it is legally performed. So great, Iowa is now performing same-sex marriages, but there are no federal benefits, and no shared tax returns for those couples. Obama has seen our increased activism and tried to appease us with small measures of support for the same-sex partners of federal employees. Not Good Enough!

We must be diligent in holding our public officials accountable to the promises they’ve made and to the needs we have. We have fliers with a url: http://tinyurl.com/JolietAA. At that link, you will find almost everything you need to contact your representatives and push for a more just government…all from the convenience of your computer.

We can’t always count on convenience though. Coming out to rallies like this is important. We must let our fellow citizens and our fellow voters know that these issues are important to us. Our identities and our political interests must be visible in our communities--otherwise homophobia and transphobia will never diminish.

With all the momentum over the Prop 8 protests and winning same-sex marriage in IA, VT, ME, and NH, we must remember that marriage is not the only thing on our agenda. We have so much to fight for.

One of the most basic pieces of federal legislation is an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would keep people from being fired based on their sexual orientation, gender-identity, or disability. Despite the fact that religious organizations would be exempted from such a law, we have had no success. George Bush threatened to veto such a bill, and even though Obama has voiced support, we must hold him as well as our legislators accountable. Voicing support does not equal working for the rights of LGBT people!

Let us not forget that a few years ago, ENDA came close to passing, but many of our supposedly LGBT lobbying organizations sacrificed the rights of trans-identified people in order to push for protections on the basis of sexual orientation alone. We must hold our community’s activist organizations accountable! We must stand together!

Specific protections need to be made for those employed by the US military. Over 360 Million dollars have been wasted and over 13,000 military careers ruined implementing the discriminatory and impractical “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. It is an insult to our Armed Forces that they are neither trusted nor expected to treat their fellow soldiers with respect and professionalism. And the recent murder of Seaman August Provost reveals how important it is to allow LGBT soldiers to be open about their identities and to be able to report harassment without fear of being fired. We must not tolerate the status quo!

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act that many of us have been encouraged to write to our representatives about would replace existing policies in order to protect soldiers based on their sexual orientation, but there are absolutely no measures taken to ensure soldiers are able to serve openly regardless of their gender-identity. We must act to change the status quo—even within our own LGBT activist networks! Will you stand up against inequality? We must stand together!