This is the only place I can really rant. Believe it or not, some people don't like to hear me rant. I don't know why. I'm actually a little unprepared. I should really post my rants right when the mood hits me. But that's usually when I'm in my car with nothing but my thoughts to occupy me.
Let me go back and revisit some recent topics. Specifically, gay marriage in Maryland. You can go back and read my previous post on the topic. Now that the court has ruled against gay marriage, the issue, and the solution, falls back into the hands of us gay folks and our allies. After reading some of the analysis on the court case itself, I have to admit that I think we've pursued the wrong path from the beginning. I've always thought the gay marriage battle was premature. I've since altered that position, but not completely. It's premature for many of us who had no need to get married. But after being with my partner for over six years, and now that we're starting a family, the need for marriage laws is a much higher priority for me. I think that gays and lesbians who are arguing that pursuing gay marriage is premature ought to consider that their position is influenced by their current, probably stable, personal situation.
None-the-less, politically, it is clear that the will to give GLBT citizens equal access to marriage equality just doesn't exist. It doesn't exist anywhere, even in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, the supreme court ruled in favor of gay families, but at least a slight majority of citizens disagreed with the ruling. Subsequently, the state legislature began a bloody battle of trying to change their constitution to specifically prohibit gay marriage. The effort failed, thankfully, in part to getting a new governor who didn't support the measure. And so gay marriage exists in one state of the union.
In many other states, gay marriage has been outright rejected, or ignored, and on occasion, "compromised" into something called civil unions. While Maryland has been able to defeat amendments to our state's constitution banning gay marriage, actually getting pro-gay marriage legislation passed is another matter altogether.
One newspaper article questioned the timing of the lawsuit. Apparently our Court of Appeals was pretty conservative, but two judges were nearing their mandated retirement. Just in time for our newly elected Democratic governor to appoint new ones. Most of us believe he'll appoint progressive judges to the court. With his wife being a judge, our governor has a pretty intimate knowledge of the candidate pool. Anyway, the question is, why not wait for this opportunity? It seems that a different set of judges would have ruled in our favor. No guarantees, obviously, but our chances would have been better. I've heard that our lobbying group, Equality Maryland, was frustrated at their lack of progress during the recent Republican administration and decided to take their legal battles to the court. I think the families who were a part of that lawsuit were counseled poorly. We've suffered a setback and I think it will take us a good amount of time to overcome it.
Let's consider the landscape. Our state is facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit that must be overcome in order to balance the budget, which is required by law. For years, long before our Republican governor came and went, legislators have been crying for structural changes in the budget to fix the bothersome deficit. O'Malley, newly elected governor, has decided to take it on. I don't like all his strategies (and I'll write about that some other time), but his effort is long overdue and really brave. Most importantly, it will take all the political muscle he can muster up. You see, the plan involves taxes, and lots of them. There will be very little room left in his legislative agenda for anything else. He will blow all his favors on getting his budget bills passed. Gay marriage will be so far off his radar screen, not to mention that of our legislature's, we don't have a snowball's chance in hell (I've always wanted to use that saying) of being successful this year.
How do you think our brave GLBT lobby will handle this situation? They're going to ignore it. This is our greatest downfall. We're going to act like there is nothing else as important as getting the right to marry. We're going to march into our legislator's office, piled with over 1,000 bills, and scream and yell about how we're being discriminated against and insist they drop everything to correct this injustice. That will be our first mistake. We won't look at the big picture. We'll act like our heads have been buried in the sand. Forget the deficit! I want to plan my wedding!
Listen, I want to get married. Believe me, I'm scared for my child and what obstacles Caroline and I will have to overcome being gay parents. But most people can't sympathize with my position. They don't understand, and during a 90-day legislative session, they don't have enough time to learn. What are we doing about it now? Before the fun begins? Where is the organizing of Equality Maryland? All they care about is their upcoming fundraiser. It doesn't cost much to start a letter-writing campaign. You've got a contact list, send an email. Our legislators need to start hearing from us now. But nope. Equality Maryland is more concerned about pulling off another great gig, and maybe we'll hear from them again in January.
Well, I'm going to write to my legislators. They need to hear from us. They need to know how marriage discrimination is affecting our everyday lives. I don't think we'll solve our marriage crisis this year, but if we could, we're getting a really slow start.
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3 comments:
Actually, here are just a few things Equality Maryland is doing right now:
(1) Holding house parties around the state to gather support for marriage equality in key legislative districts (those with legislators who might be persuaded to support marriage);
(2) Canvassing tens of thousands of households in those same districts to identify allies and get them to contact their legislators;
(3) Meeting on an almost daily basis with allied legislators and strategists to plan a strategy for the upcoming legislative session; and
(4) Distributing hundreds (maybe thousands at this point) of "Civil Marriage is a Civil Right" yard signs and bumper stickers, to encourage supporters and start conversations among those who may not yet be supporters.
I could list many more, if you like. Equality Maryland is also holding its Jazz Brunch on October 28, as you indicate. Events like these energize our core supporters and, yes, they raise lots of money, without which none of the above would be possible. If you'd like to attend, visit our website. :)
I did not write this with organization approval, but in the interest of fairness, I'll sign this post fully and honestly.
Mike Klein
Development/Communications Associate
Equality Maryland
Mike, I'll say it again, Baltimore City should be the focus of the organizing because most of Maryland's gay folks live here. A lot of people deal with that fact with denial, but it's true. More time should be spent here with our community than anywhere. You can talk about needing to organize the whole state and about fairness to the suburbs and rural areas. But a movement should be starting within and the core and that's Baltimore City. We're not as glamorous as DC, but this is what we got. I love it.
House parties are great but we need activities that encourage everyone to get involved like Meet-ups. I'll spend more time talking about organizing strategies in another post.
Lastly, I intend to fully participate in this debate. I don't need to take direction from Equality Maryland because I know how to advocate for myself. We do need an organization to create a movement and I hope Equality Maryland can do, but if the way they've handled these challenges in the past is any indication, a little criticism might provide some useful tips. Don't get defensive. Get motivated.
Thanks for your personal advocacy and your determination!
I will resist the temptation to extend this discussion because I think it would be tough for me to defend an organization I'm part of, while still making it clear that I'm not writing on behalf of that organization. In other words, I would surely express some opinions that are not EQMD's, but might be interpreted as such because I'm an employee.
I did want to respond to the specific claim that EQMD was basically doing nothing, and I thank you for giving me that opportunity.
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