Simple equality
Published March 12, 2010 | 
The Charlotte Observer features a photo of a soldier writing a letter to his fiancee, (click photo at right to enlarge) including a small story of how he proposed to her. He’s sitting in an Army barrack in his fatigues. His punishment for openly identifying his heterosexual sexual orientation? Nothing.
If, perhaps, a similar photo had been made and the fiancee’s name changed to a male name, this hard working soldier would be receiving a discharge.
All we ask for is simple equality. We ask that LGBT servicemembers be given the freedom for which they’ve sacrificed a safe life at home, their families and friends, and for which they continually place their lives in harm’s way. What better way is their to honor these LGBT American patriots than treating them with dignity and respect, just as their heterosexual colleagues are?
Why We March
Published March 10, 2010 | 13,500. In the scheme of cities, and the world, that number doesn’t seem like that much. But in the scheme of the army, 13,500 troops is a force to be reckoned with.
13,500 troops constitute nearly a whole division of soldiers. 13,500 is two to three regiments, taking on combat missions. It’s nearly 13 battalions ready for service. It’s 67 companies fighting side by side. It’s 337 platoons taking on critical missions. It’s 1350 squads of soldiers watching out for each other. It’s 3375 fireteams rushing into battle to protect each other.
In reality, 13,500 is a lot. And when I think about the 13,500 soldiers who have been discharged from the military because they are gay Americans, it makes me think that our leaders must not actually care about this country’s national defense. In a time where we are fighting war on two fronts, is it really a good time to be discharging 800 mission critical troops (which, by the way, would constitute one battalion, four companies, 20 platoons, 80 squads and 200 fireteams)?
While our troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, is it really a good time to be dismissing troops who have training in Arabic and Farsi? And if a soldier is willing to lay down his or her life for their country, shouldn’t that be enough to prove commitment and patriotism? Straightness is no litmus test for courage, valor, honor or heroism…just ask Mark Bingham of Flight 93.
No one should have to lie about his or her identity in order to fight for and protect the freedoms of others. If there was ever one group that deserved to be honored and respected, isn’t it our troops?
For these reasons, CRANE is marching on Myrick. You can not preach national security with one side of your mouth and then uphold a policy that hurts military readiness with the other. You don’t get to “own” issues of national security and defense while simultaneously going against the recommendations of top military officials who are serving now.
Please help us reach our goal of collecting 13,500 toy soldiers- one for every soldier willing to fight and die for this country but wasn’t considered “fit” due to their sexual orientation. It’s time to stop government sponsored discrimination.
Marriage equality comes home
Published March 4, 2010 | I think I never really thought I’d get married till today. Not legally; not without flying off to Iowa or Massachusetts or Canada and accepting that only a few family members could be with me. Not without knowing that in the eyes of my state, my city, my country, and a goodly lot of my fellow citizens, my marriage wouldn’t be real.
I lived in D.C. till two years ago, when I came back home to Charlotte, and it’s kinda still my town. The photos of giddy soon-marrieds on the steps of the courthouse reminds me of that one Saturday I got lost downtown looking for lunch, and my friend and I ended up wandering all the way from the Mall to Chinatown, talking much faster than we walked. The Superior Court is near the Judiciary Square Metro station, which I’d only pass through on the way to Metro Station to “go Amtrak!” Those courthouse steps aren’t exactly the sort of courthouse steps you’d remember, I don’t think I even have a specific memory of them, but the photos sparked a pang of homesickness.
Like this amazingly cute couple:
D.C. isn’t home to me anymore, despite now being home to marriage equality. Home is where the heart is, and Charlotte’s where I get to be with my family, my Valentine, and of course my pink & sparkly activist friends. Some day we won’t have to line up at the Government Center to protest Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or march there to stake our claim to marriage equality. We’ll be lined all the way up 4th Street waiting to confidently request what’s rightfully ours. We’ll be equal.
While I’m at it, I have to plug the New York Times’ Bay Area blog and its incredible, on-the-ground coverage of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case, which if you don’t know is going to blow the lid off this whole “traditional marriage” mumbo-jumbo. Honestly, I think it already did, simply by exposing that the h8ters have no rational basis whatsoever for preventing fabulous gay folks from getting married. Closing arguments haven’t been scheduled, so we don’t know when the ruling will come. Check out the Bay Area blog’s excellent summary on the possible outcomes of the case, and if you haven’t kept up on it, take some time to read their absorbing day-by-day breakdowns:
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 1 (regular NYTimes article)
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 2: History Lessons
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 3: The Defense Pushes Back
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 4: Economics
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 5: Children
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 6: Civil Unions
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 7: Choice
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 8: Power and Prejudice
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 9: Research
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 10: Domino Effect
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 11: Churches
- Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 12: The End (for Now)
- Same-Sex Marriage Case: The Post-Mortem
- and … Same-Sex Marriage Case: The Movie
Posted in Commentary | 
D.C., marriage equality, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, same-sex marriage | 
Leave a commentThe power of pink, sparkly things
Published February 17, 2010 | Yesterday, I gave Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James a big, gay Valentine.
It seems silly now, but I kept thinking he would try to talk me out of the idea that GAY IS OK, as our giant card read, and that I’d crumble under the pressure. But once I got up to speak, it was easy. It was easy to assert that being gay is OK; that if you’re so unused to referring to gay people in polite company, you go with “homo,” that gay is a far better choice. It was easy to announce that CRANE is happy to engage Bill James in respectful dialogue. Because it was the right thing to do.
When I first heard that Bill James used the slur “homo” to refer to a fellow commissioner’s dead son, I was shocked, and before long, just sad. What would make anyone think that’s OK?
But finally, if a public figure says just the most recent awful thing in a long history of awful things, why not go ahead and say, ENOUGH?
Thanks to everyone who signed our card and added their comments. I am glad there are those of us who expect more from our elected officials, and aren’t afraid to say so. Even in pink, sparkly letters — they definitely seemed to make Commissioner James a bit uncomfortable.
Here’s my statement:
Good evening, commissioners, in particular Commissioner James.
I’m here tonight to present a Valentine to Commissioner Bill James on behalf of gay and gay-friendly Charlotteans. As you can see, our “conversation heart” lets you know that Gay … Is OK.
From your inflammatory statements over the past few months, including the use of the slurs “homo” and “tranny,” we know that you have some work to do to better support all of your constituents. That’s why CRANE — Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality — is offering our support in beginning that process. The first step would be to embrace respect, even for those with whom you disagree, and stop using anti-gay slurs. If you need a descriptor, we’re fine with the word “gay.” Like the card says, it’s OK!
But more importantly, as the inside of the card reads, we believe that all of us — gay or straight — can and should feel loved, no matter whom we love. We’ll be checking in with you this year in hopes that you can turn your attitude around and treat us as fellow Charlotteans worthy of respect.
If you’d like to speak with us further in a spirit of openness and respect, we’re happy to arrange that. You can get in touch with us via rainbowaction.org. Thank you.
Hope to see everyone out on Friday, February 26 in downtown Charlotte in support of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!
Words matter
Published February 17, 2010 | CRANE organizer Lacey Williams and I had the chance to chat with Keith Larson during his show on WBT News-Talk 1110 AM on Wednesday. Larson’s invite to us was extended after CRANE presented Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James a special Valentine’s Day card saying “Gay is OK” and imploring James to lay aside his anti-gay rhetoric and begin treating all Mecklenburg County citizens with the respect and dignity they deserve.
On Larson’s show, we got into a great conversation about words, slurs and labels. Where did they come from? What do they mean? Do they matter? How confusing is all this?
It was a great educational moment for our community, Charlotte’s straight community and Larson’s listeners. Continue reading
Posted in Commentary | Bill James, Charlotte, Keith Larson, labels, Mecklenburg County, slurs, WBT | 1 Comment
The Dawning of a New Era!(?)
Yesterday was a great day for CRANE and for the LGBT rights movement.
Wednesday night, several organizers from CRANE were out and about spreading the word about our March on Myrick campaign to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We received donations of cash and soldiers and Thursday morning it was clear that we had met our goal! We have over 13,500 soldiers that we will take to Sue Myrick to show her that, especially in a time of war, it is foolish to support a policy as wasteful as DADT.
Since springing on the scene in 2008, CRANE has been taking up the banner of “get out and do something” activism. Since inception, we have been about engaging people in real live activism…instead of the “activism” we all have been doing in our facebook status updates and in the glow of our computer screens. Guess what? That arm chair activism has not been effective. For activism to work, it needs to be fortified with warm bodies, in the street, agitating and showing what chaos or headache may happen if the LGBT community is not listened to.
Yesterday, Lt. Dan Choi led a group of folks to the White House to protest the Obama administration’s seemingly laissez faire attitude toward overturning DADT. In an act of defiance, he handcuffed himself to the fence in front of the White House. Now, we can debate the efficacy of such an act. What is not up for debate is that there are pictures of an American hero, in uniform, whose career is on the verge of ending because he is gay, being led away in handcuffs by park police, in front of the residence of a supposed gay advocate. What a contrast! The Obama administration, which courted and won the majority of the LGBT community’s votes by talking about the sweeping changes it would make to the landscape of LGBT rights, is rapidly losing its street cred with gays.
On the same day, members of GetEqual staged a sit-in at Speaker Pelosi’s offices in San Fran and DC to press the Employment Non-Discrimination Act back to the surface. Again, we can debate strategy here about changing messages while the momentum is squarely on DADT, but what we can’t debate is that finally we have GAY groups willing to put themselves out there in support of gay causes.
I am so sick of our “leaders” doing all of “our” business behind closed doors…did we come out of the closet just to go back in whenever we are trying to make progress on an issue?
We need more civil disobedience. We need to advocate our causes in the daylight. We need to stop ceding power to people to speak for us when we are perfectly capable of speaking for ourselves. The community needs leaders. And it looks like in the absence of real, true leadership, people are finally standing up.
Thank you, Lt. Dan Choi. Thank you, GetEqual. And thank you to the hundreds of people who have supported CRANE and our March on Myrick campaign. This is just the beginning of an incredible ride toward freedom.