The Time Is Now

Today cities around the country hosted protests against California's Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage in California (where it had been legalized just months ago)that passed on November 4. Also passed on Election Day were similar propositions in Arizona and Florida as well as a law in Arkansas that outlaws adoption by unmarried persons (cough...gays...cough).

Arguments for gay marriage have been articulated in newspapers, blogs, and t.v.: every citizen should have equal rights, denying some citizens equal marriage rights is unfair because they pay full taxes, it is matter of basic civil rights - the list goes on and on.

This movement isn't just about marriage rights, though. Not everyone wants to get married. Not everyone will get married, even if they have the legal right to. It is about no longer placing those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the "other" category. And when people are placed in that category, it is so much easier for people to see them as diffrent - as less than. Which leads to violence. It is easy to hurt someone who you don't see as human as yourself. Or to hurt yourself when you're tired of being treated like a second class citizen.

We can't allow another Matthew Shepard to happen. Another Brandon Teena. We can't continue standing by while the gay teen suicide rate rises. The time for civil rights for EVERYONE is now.

So what can you do about it? Don't be complacent. Even if you aren't queer, even if you don't want to get married, this is something you should be concerned about. Tell your friends and family why this issue matters. Write letters to legislators. Donate funds to legal advocacy groups that are doing some of the heavy lifting around this issue, like Lambda Legal andNational Center for Lesbian Rights. Tell friends who are getting married that instead of a gift, you're going to donate to marriage equality in their name.

Boycott businesses that either donated funds directly to Yes on 8 or are in bed with groups who donated to Yes on 8:
McDonalds Corporation
Home Depot
Bonneville Radio Stations (In Chicago, they have 101.9, 100.3, 97.1, and 96.9 F.M.)
Lowes
And I'm getting really local here: Century 21 theater in Evanston.

This is a call to action - the kind we can't do on air. I'm talking to you, person who sits on their couch and thinks "Wow, this is all really messed up" and does NOTHING. Get up. Do something. We don't have time to waste.