Chicago gay leaders talk equal marriage strategy
What's next for the gay rights movement?
That's the question some leaders in Chicago's gay community tried to answer Monday night during a panel discussion at the Center on Halsted. About 30 people gathered to hear the thoughts of Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network; Tania Unzueta of the Chicago Dyke March; and Christopher Clark, a senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal.
It's been almost a month since the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 and the Illinois State Legislature ended its session without voting on the much-anticipated civil unions bill. So what's next?
A March on Washington, for one. The National Equality March is set to take place Oct. 10-11 to demand "equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states," according to the march's official Web site.
But no more Mr. and Ms. Nice Guy, Thayer said.
"I want it to be an angry march," he said.
Here's what else the panelists had to say.
>>Thayer's main point was that gays have to make their political power felt by closing their wallets to politicians who are not pushing for marriage equality.
Marriage isn't the only issue in the fight for gay equal rights, Thayer said, but it's become the symbolic issue. He likened it to the fight against segregated water fountains and lunch counters during the civil rights movement, which helped get the ball rolling for change.
Thayer also suggested sitting out the 2010 congressional elections to show that legislators have to earn the gay vote.
"Frankly, we have been issuing blank checks," Thayer said. "When they think they have us in their back pocket, they'll take us for granted.
>> Clark said that despite the setback in California, the state-by-state strategy seems to be working, as this year's victories in Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire show.
But the gay rights movement has to be careful about where it picks its battles, and how, Clark said. Depending on public opinion and legal matters, sometimes it's better to fight with politics (like the Illinois civil unions bill), and sometimes it's better to fight with lawsuits (like in Iowa).
Lambda Legal spearheaded the lawsuit that resulted in Iowa granting same-sex marriage rights, but it took great effort, money and care, Clark said.
"It's insanely expensive, and our opposition is insanely well-funded," Clark said. He noted that Lambda Legal did outreach and education throughout the Iowa litigation to guard against backlash.
>>To Unzueta, a key step for gay rights is to create solidarity with other communities, such as immigrants pushing for immigrant rights.
She also said gay resources and leadership need to be made more accessible to people outside of Boystown to better acknowledge the diversity of the gay community, which is spread throuhout the city. Unzueta noted that Dyke March has a new policy to change the march's location every two years to give access and exposure to different parts of the city. This year it's in Pilsen (stepping off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Halsted and 18th streets).
What do you think about those proposed strategies in the fight for gay rights? What would you suggest?
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3 Comments
Anna Pulley said:
did you read the pretty convincing article from HuffPo on why marching in October is not the best idea? Food for thought.
Michael Lehet said:
Hey Alexia - I was there on Monday, had I known I would have found you and said hello.
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz said:
Thanks for the article, Anna. Good points. There's a lot of conflict about the timing of the march, but what do you think about the idea of a march at all?
Hey Michael, hope to meet you soon!
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