Six Months Into Obama, And All We Have Is This Lousy Tee Shirt
We’re one week into the second-half of the year, and we’re not much closer to realizing our goals than we were on January 20th. But this isn’t about Barack Obama. This time, this is about us.
I use the term “the LGBTQ community,” or, “the gay community,” often. But in my ♡ I know I’m really talking about some nebulous construction that doesn’t exist. For all that Prop 8 did to organize and mobilize us, for all that the promise of Obama and the promises broken by Obama have done to excite and disappoint us, for all that the family-values-cheating/chanting, self-imploding Republican Party has done to strengthen us, we are not much closer to a country that fully recognizes same-sex couples, protects minorities from the violence of hate, supports our LGBTQ military members, or supports working men and women who want to be productive, not harassed, at work. The four states that have moved to provide marriage equality since the beginning of Obama’s presidency did not do so because of anything that Obama or Congress did. Our national political leaders haven’t moved the mark.
In fact, a just-released Gallup poll found that Americans’ views on gay rights, “are similar now to where they were at the time of the 2004 elections, despite significant policy developments…” That’s 2004, five years ago, when then-President Bush came out for a ban on same-sex marriage, and same-sex marriage was the wedge issue that many say gave Bush another four years.
Much has been written, here and elsewhere, by me and by others, about how Obama has disappointed us, broken his promise to be our “fierce advocate,” and provide the equality we so desperately need and deserve. Well, I have a few questions: Whast are we doing to “get it”? And if we’re not our own “fierce advocates” more than is our president, why should we expect him to be? Seriously. I estimate there are 30 million Americans who can consider themselves as part of that “LGBTQ community” I so often write about. That is one of the largest voting blocs in this country. Yet, we are almost invisible. Why? Because there are so many of us who simply are apathetic.
It’s time to get visible. And it’s time to start holding Congress’ feet to the fire. Obama is the president. But he’s one man. We have 535 elected representatives between the House and the Senate. How many of them support us? Do you know where yours stands on gay marriage, DADT, DOMA, ENDA, Hate Crimes? I hope so, and chances are if you’re a Bilerico reader, you do, but I also know that the vast majority, the silent, invisible majority of the 30 million LGBTQ Americans don’t. And it’s time we all did.
Remember that just-released Gallup poll? You know what else it says? The country is growing more conservative. Yes, conservative. Almost four out of every ten voters say they have grown more conservative. The fail-safe concept we’ve been keeping in the back of our minds, the, “Well, there’s always the next generation,” idea may not be a valid one. I once wrote that nothing succeeds like failure. The Conservatives have failed stupendously. And they’re angry. And they’re on the move. Witness the Tea Parties. And the increase in hate crimes. And not just anti-gay hate crimes, but racially-motivated hate crimes. Or the George Tiller murder. Or racial slurs – from leaders in the D.C. Young Republicans, for example. Yes, more conservative, and more hate.
It’s time. It’s time for all LGBTQ Americans to take a stand. To take action. To tell our elected representatives where we stand. What we want. In clear and specific terms. And let them know we’re not opposed to voting for someone else if we don’t get what we deserve. We have less than six months left in this year – don’t you want to be able to ring in the new year with the possibility of a wedding ring?