Gay Activists Qutn March On Washgton : NPR

gay march on washington 2009

‘Marriage Is a Civil Right’ urty of ‘M.V. Jantzen’ Harvey Milk-protege Cleve Jon is planng a march on Washgton for gay rights on October 11th, Natnal Comg Out Day. While I wish Jon well, and suppose that a natnal day of prott DC would be a good rallyg pot/photo op for gay rights supporters, […]

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GAY RIGHTS MARCH WASHGTON

Advot Marched Washgton to Demand that Print Obama Keep His Promis to the Gay Communy * gay march on washington 2009 *

Doug Armstrong, 35, of Washgton, left, blows bubbl at Andhati Ban-Mayer Eidger, 5, as she walks wh her mother Alexis Ban-Mayer Eidger, of Washgton, center, durg the Natnal Equaly March wh thoands of gay rights advot Washgton, Sunday, Oct. A five-pot platform for the march lled for passage by Congrs of a “prehensive” lbian and gay civil rights bill; a printial executive orr banng discrimatn based on sexual orientatn the feral workforce, the ary, ferally ntracted private employers; repeal of all anti-gay/lbian laws; an end to discrimatn child ctody disput for gay and lbian parents; and protectns for gay and lbian youth agast discrimatn at home or schools.

Items add to the platform beyond those clud for the 1979 march clud a ll for legal regnn of lbian and gay relatnships; repeal of sodomy laws applyg to nsentg adults; an end to discrimatn agast people wh HIV/AIDS; reproductive eedom for women; and an end to racism the U. While march anizers were generally optimistic over a Clton Whe Hoe, some exprsed ncern that the new print appeared to be backg down om his promise to lift the ban on gays the ary followg opposn to the proposal by many Congrs. Rather than seek put om grassroots activists and lol LGBT groups, HRC and Perry formed a march mtee on their own and hired lbian edian and events producer Rob Tyler, who had been llg for another gay march, as the march’s executive producer.

GAY RIGHTS MARCHERS PRS CSE WASHGTON

Some gay rights activists say the march planned for this weekend Washgton, D.C., is bad timg and may dra rourc om cril fights ragg elsewhere, and that old-fashned lobbyg is much more effective. Organizers unter that 's not an eher/or suatn. * gay march on washington 2009 *

In a prs release announcg the march, the mtee boasted that rporate sponsors were beg led up to help fance the march and a long list of celebri, most of whom were gay or lbian, would be performg at a ncert durg the weekend of the planned march. Longtime gay rights advote David Mixner is creded wh iatg the march an effort to build on the groundswell of LGBT activism on social media generated by the approval by California voters of Proposn 8, a ballot measure that overturned the state’s same-sex marriage law.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS THE UNED STAT: NATNAL MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS

Thoands march Washgton for gay rights * gay march on washington 2009 *

11, 2009WASHINGTON — Impatient and disuraged by what they see as a certa tachment by Print Obama on their issu, gay rights supporters took to the streets Sunday the largt monstratn for gay rights here nearly a rally was primarily the unrtakg of a new generatn of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr advot who have grown disillned wh the movement’s as Stonewall 2. ”The print did not lay out a timetable to repeal the ban on gays and lbians servg openly the ary, voice support for any of the battl gog on at state levels to allow same-sex upl more regnn unr the law nor mentn the march.

GAY ACTIVISTS QUTN MARCH ON WASHGTON

Gay rights advot are divid over whether a march Washgton will e at the expense of ballot fights. * gay march on washington 2009 *

” The Human Rights Campaign, which helped anize the last gay rights march on Washgton 2000 but had virtually no volvement Sunday’s event, stirred up some ntroversy over the weekend after s print, Joe Solmone, wrote a letter to supporters urgg them to take Mr. " Many worry that the march will amount to ltle more than a big party and dra rourc om cril fights ragg elsewhere — such as the ballot qutns that would repeal gay marriage Mae and overturn domtic partner benefs Washgton state. WASHINGTON — Tens of thoands of gays, lbians and supporters marched through the natn’s pal Sunday a ftive, forceful ll for equaly, culmatg a boistero rally at the Natnal Equaly March took place one day after Print Obama ma sweepg pledg to the gay muny, cludg a vow to end the ary policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” -- which bans gays and lbians om servg openly the armed forc.

DEBATE OVER GAY MARCH EXPOS SPL APPROACH

The gay rights movement the Uned Stat began the 1920s and saw huge progrs the 2000s, wh laws prohibg homosexual activy stck down and a Supreme Court lg legalizg same-sex marriage. * gay march on washington 2009 *

“For this print to keep throwg out of the ary is unnscnable, ” Los Angel Cy Councilman Bill Rosendahl, a gay man and Army veteran, said an, at the Capol rally, Rosendahl told the crowd that 36 stat allow hog discrimatn based on sexual orientatn and 29 stat perm firgs on those grounds. Organizers of Sunday’s march said the LGBT muny (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people) is not satisfied wh a piecemeal approach to civil years after the Stonewall rts New York lnched the gay rights movement, they are mandg “full feral equaly” and sglg out marriage, adoptn, ary service and workplace marchers wore purple T-shirts exhortg: “Legalize gay.

GAY RIGHTS

Thirty years after the first gay rights march on Washgton, activists took to the streets aga Sunday. Their mand: equal protectn all matters erned by civil law, all 50 stat, now. On Saturday night, Print Obama spoke to a leadg gay-rights group, vowg to, among other thgs, end the ary's "don't ask don't tell" policy. Host Guy Raz reviews the day's events and talks to Cleve Jon, a longtime gay lear and one of the march's key anizers. * gay march on washington 2009 *

Daniel Choi, an Iraq bat veteran facg discharge for disclosg his sexual orientatn; Babs Siperste, a transsexual member of the Democratic Natnal Commtee; glam rocker Lady Gaga; and Michael Huffgton, a Republin and former ngrsman om lked gay rights to civil rights. But a march planned for Sunday on the Mall Washgton is exposg ep divisns among gay rights advot around the untry as they grapple wh whether to ntue phg for gas state by state, or embrace a more aggrsive strategy to prsure the Obama admistratn and Congrs for feral march is occurrg as referendum mpaigns Mae and Washgton State seek to overturn laws that expand the rights of same-sex upl. Faced wh the specter of a feat siar to the passage of Proposn 8 California last year, gay rights advot have spl over whether an unrtakg as large and expensive as a march on Washgton will e at the expense of ballot fights this bate around the march — the first mass gatherg of gay rights supporters Washgton sce 2000 — suggts that as the AIDS crisis has reced, gay activists have had a more difficult time mobilizg around a more diffe agenda, cludg issu like same-sex marriage and anti-discrimatn laws.

MARCHERS IN WASHGTON PRS FOR GAY RIGHTS

* gay march on washington 2009 *

“We n be thankful that the threat of AIDS has ebbed and is no longer the ath warrant was, but that also turns down the flame of nscns, ” said Dudley Clenden, a scholar of the Amerin gay movement who teach at Johns Hopks Universy. ”Activists of this mdset believe that wh a large Democratic majory Congrs and a Democrat the Whe Hoe, now is the ial time to take on issu like overturng the ban on gay men and lbians servg openly the ary and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Wilson/Associated Prs“There has never been a better time than now, ” said David Mixner, a longtime advote for gay rights.

” Equaly Oh has also cled to endorse the activists are not the only on who are natn’s largt gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr advocy group, the Human Rights Campaign, waed nearly three months after the ia was first proposed May before agreed to get on board. “One of the worst ias ever, ” was the ial judgment of Bil Browng, a wily read gay left to right: Philip Stt Andrews/Associated Prs; Chris Ramirez for The New York Tim; Pat Wellenbach/Associated PrsOf urse, other gay lears say the bate do not have to be amed eher/or terms. Longtime gay rights advot said they have seen a surge activism among people their 20s and 30s, who seemed pecially energized after the passage of Proposn 8 California, which outlawed same-sex marriage that state, and gave many of them their first taste of adversy.

Williams and the other -director, Rob McGehee, 36, said they had reced a nsirable share of volunteers and march participants through the Inter and whout the help of natnal and state gay advocy has characterized prev such march on Washgton, 1978, 1987, 1993 and 2000.

GAY AND LBIAN MARCH ON WASHGTON

First March on Washgton for Lbian and Gay Rights - Anniversary Commemoratns, October 14, 1979, and History of March. * gay march on washington 2009 *

“Whenever you have the kds of events, on that seek to portray a natnal public image for a group of people, you’re gog to see this kd of dissent, ” said Am Ghaziani, a post-doctoral fellow at Prceton who wrote a book on the prev gay rights seen by the endorsement of groups like the Human Rights Campaign that were ially ristant to the march, there are signs some of the dissent is beg rolved.

Army service World War I, Gerber was spired to create his anizatn by the Scientific-Humanarian Commtee, a “homosexual emancipatn” group ’s small group published a few issu of s newsletter “Friendship and Freedom, ” the untry’s first gay-tert newsletter. Ernment signated Gerber’s Chigo hoe a Natnal Historic Pk TriangleCorbis/Getty ImagHomosexual prisoners at the ncentratn mp at Sachsenhsen, Germany, wearg pk triangl on their uniforms on December 19, gay rights movement stagnated for the next few s, though LGBT dividuals around the world did e to the spotlight a few example, English poet and thor Radclyffe Hall stirred up ntroversy 1928 when she published her lbian-themed novel, The Well of Lonels. Addnally, 1948, his book Sexual Behavr the Human Male, Aled Ksey proposed that male sexual orientatn li on a ntuum between exclively homosexual to exclively Homophile Years In 1950, Harry Hay found the Mattache Foundatn, one of the natn’s first gay rights group.

GAY US AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY MARCH BUDAPT PRI MARCH

”Though started off small, the foundatn, which sought to improve the liv of gay men through discsn groups and related activi, expand after foundg member Dale Jenngs was arrted 1952 for solicatn and then later set ee due to a adlocked the end of the year, Jenngs formed another anizatn lled One, Inc., which weled women and published ONE, the untry’s first pro-gay magaze.

Post Office, which 1954 clared the magaze “obscene” and refed to liver Mattache Society Mattache Foundatn members rtctured the anizatn to form the Mattache Society, which had lol chapters other parts of the untry and 1955 began publishg the untry’s send gay publitn, The Mattache Review.

That same year, four lbian upl San Francis found an anizatn lled the Dghters of Bilis, which soon began publishg a newsletter lled The Ladr, the first lbian publitn of any early years of the movement also faced some notable setbacks: the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn listed homosexualy as a form of mental disorr followg year, Print Dwight D.

GAY RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHGTON, OCTOBER 11

”In fear of beg shut down by thori, bartenrs would ny drks to patrons spected of beg gay or kick them out altogether; others would serve them drks but force them to s facg away om other ctomers to prevent them om 1966, members of the Mattache Society New York Cy staged a “sip-”—a twist on the “s-” protts of the 1960s— which they vised taverns, clared themselv gay, and waed to be turned away so they uld sue.

They were nied service at the Greenwich Village tavern Juli, rultg much publicy and the quick reversal of the anti-gay liquor Stonewall Inn A few years later, 1969, a now-famo event talyzed the gay rights movement: The Stonewall clanste gay club Stonewall Inn was an stutn Greenwich Village bee was large, cheap, allowed dancg and weled drag queens and homels the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York Cy police raid the Stonewall Inn.

AS CRICISM OF OBAMA MOUNTS WH GAY COMMUNY, GAY RIGHTS PNEER CLEVE JON CALLS FOR MARCH FOR EQUALY ON WASHGTON

" This sign was wrten by the Mattache Society–an early anizatn dited to fightg for gay reportg the events, The New York Daily News rorted to homophobic slurs s tailed verage, nng the headle: “Homo Nt Raid, Queen Be Are Stgg Mad. 1 / 12: NY Daily News Archive/Getty ImagChristopher Street Liberatn Day Shortly after the Stonewall uprisg, members of the Mattache Society spl off to form the Gay Liberatn Front, a radil group that lnched public monstratns, protts and nontatns wh polil officials. Siar groups followed, cludg the Gay Activists Alliance, Radilbians, and Street Transvt Actn Revolutnari (STAR) 1970, at the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, New York Cy muny members marched through lol streets memoratn of the event.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY MARCH ON WASHINGTON 2009

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