Yorek continued, “The upsurge of struggle that began with the Stonewall Rebellion has begun to bear fruit. This Pride weekend we should celebrate with all our hearts. On Monday we need to get back to work to defeat discrimination of all kinds, including employment discrimination, and redouble our efforts for transgender equality.”

#SanJoseCA #GayMarriage #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #SupremeCourt

Saint Paul, MN – On Nov. 6, Minnesotans voted down two controversial constitutional amendments that conservatives put on the ballot. An amendment that would have made gay marriage unconstitutional was defeated 51.2% to 47.6%. An amendment that would have put restrictive voter ID requirements into the state constitution – an effort to suppress voter turnout – was also defeated, 52.2% to 46.3%.

For several months support for a ‘no’ vote on the anti-gay marriage amendment gradually grew and got close enough to be within the polling margin of error, but never took a decisive or comfortable lead in pre-election polls. The climb was even steeper for opponents of the Voter ID amendment. When it was first proposed, the Voter ID amendment had about 80% support, and almost nobody thought it could be defeated. But a few progressive organizations and unions took on the challenge and month after month chipped away at the lead through grassroots organizing.

Like with the marriage amendment, opponents of the Voter ID amendment were consistently behind in the polls until the last pre-election poll surprised everyone and showed the ‘no’ vote slightly ahead. The final poll numbers held on Election Day, with the ‘no’ votes winning in one of the most dramatic electoral turnarounds in recent memory.

The defeat of these amendments was a stinging rebuke for the right wing in Minnesota, who put them on the ballot specifically in an attempt to increase conservative voter turnout in a presidential election year. They assumed the amendments would easily pass, as similar proposals have in other states.

The right wing even thought they had protected themselves against a progressive backlash by at first proposing, then deciding to scrap, a third referendum which would have attacked unions by trying to make Minnesota a ‘right to work’ state. By pulling that one back they presumably hoped to take union mobilization out of the equation on the other two amendments. But most unions went all in anyway to defeat the marriage and voter ID amendments, seeing them as part of an overall attack on democratic rights, and that the right wing would have attacked union rights next if they were successful on these ones.

So instead of increasing conservative voter turnout, the marriage and voter ID amendments seemed to have the opposite effect – they created a progressive outpouring that delivered a historic defeat for the two amendments, while also going further and eviscerating the Republicans’ short-lived majorities in the State House and Senate. Republicans had taken control of both houses in 2010 for the first time in a generation, but on Tuesday their fortunes were reversed. Republicans lost control of both houses, with the Democrats taking a 39-28 seat majority in the Senate and a 73-61 seat majority in the House.

In addition to the statewide reverberations, Minnesota voters’ rejection of both amendments bucks recent national trends on restrictive voter ID laws and gay marriage. In recent years, restrictive voter ID laws have passed in a majority of states. And until Tuesday, legalizing same-sex marriage had never happened through a ballot referendum – in fact it had lost more than 30 times in such votes. Six states and Washington D.C. had legalized gay marriage, but through court rulings or legislation, not referendums.

That all changed on Nov. 6, when a majority of voters in Maine, Washington and Maryland voted to legalize gay marriage. The Minnesota vote didn’t legalize gay marriage in the state; it only prevented its illegality from being written into the state constitution. Same-sex marriage continues to be illegal in the state due to existing legislation. But by voting against outlawing it in the constitution in the same year that voters in three other states voted to make it legal, the message is clear: the tide has turned and the struggle for marriage equality is on the offensive now instead of the defensive.

#SaintPaulMN #GayMarriage #PeoplesStruggles #2012Election #constitutionalAmendments #GayRights

Asheville, NC – Dozens of community members and students rallied and marched through downtown Asheville April 7, chanting, “Gay or straight, stop the hate! Vote no on May 8th!” Amendment One is an anti-GLBTQ marriage proposal. The University of North Carolina-Asheville Coalition Against Amendment One organized the event.

North Carolina Senate Bill 514, also known as Amendment One, is a dangerous rewrite of the North Carolina constitution. In a sneaky move, the vote is scheduled as part of the primary election in hopes that it would have a higher Republican turnout. The text that voters will vote for or against will read: “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”

If passed, it will have countless unintended consequences for children, families, unmarried women and seniors. Children could lose health care benefits and it could threaten existing child custody and visitation rights. Domestic violence protections could only apply to married couples. We have already seen a precedent in Ohio where a similar constitutional amendment allowed convictions to be overturned. Even trusts and wills could be invalidated.

Despite the fact that it is already illegal for LGBTQ people to marry in North Carolina, this would invalidate domestic partner benefits that are offered by many municipalities. Durham, Mecklenburg and Orange counties, as well as the city of Asheville, have domestic partner registries. These provide a mechanism through which hospitals, businesses and other entities have the ability to recognize domestic partnership.

People passing by the rally today were also reminded they can vote against this amendment during early voting that runs from April 19 through May 5. Across the state, there are many more rallies, forums and events against Amendment One scheduled to take place between now and May 8.

#AshevilleNC #GayMarriage #AmendmentOne #SenateBill514

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the anti-war movement has grown and the Bush administration’s popularity has faded. The right wing has answered this with attacks on the queer community. They use the gay marriage issue to mobilize anti-gay voters in support of unpopular candidates and an unpopular war. This divides people who should be allies in the struggle for human needs, not war and greed. Just as anti-gay sentiment is used to divide Americans, the U.S. war on Iraq divides Iraqis. It forces them to either collaborate with foreign occupation or to join the resistance. Either way, they are risking their lives. The U.S. military deliberately inflames sectarian tensions and falsely labels the conflict a sectarian civil war, when it is actually a struggle for national liberation.

The U.S. occupation of Iraq has been a disaster for Iraqis for over four years. 655,000 Iraqis have been killed. Nearly four million Iraqis have fled their homes to other parts of Iraq or to neighboring countries. 60% of Iraqis are unemployed and one third of Iraqi children are malnourished. 82% of Iraqis strongly oppose the occupation and over 60% consider the U.S. military to be legitimate targets for violence. Less than 1% of Iraqis think that U.S. forces are responsible for any improvements in security. And 80% of Iraqis believe that their country is worse off now than under Saddam Hussein.

Just as gay Americans are told to wait for recognition of their civil rights, Iraqis are told to wait for justice as well. They have already endured over four years of war and occupation, but the Bush administration plans to perpetuate the war indefinitely. Even Democrats who claim to be against the war debate nonbinding timelines that would continue the war for 12 months or 18 months, while Iraqis and Americans are dying every day.

The Anti-War Committee believes the only just solution is, “Out now.” In confronting injustice, timelines are not acceptable. Should gay people have to wait for the right to marry the partner they love? Should they have to wait to benefit from all the privileges straight people enjoy? Should they wait to visit a dying loved one in the hospital? Queers deserve justice now just as Iraqis deserve self-determination now.

Waiting is familiar to all oppressed peoples who have struggled for liberation. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. had the following response to those who said the Civil Rights Movement should be more patient: “For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’”

The Anti-War Committee plans to continue working with the broader peace movement to end the war and bring the troops out of Iraq now. “We will respond with unity in the face of division and exert a sense of urgency in demanding self-determination for the people of Iraq and equality for the queer community,” said the Anti-War Committee’s Tracy Molm. “Hollow promises and timelines aren’t enough. We need justice now.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Commentary #Iraq #LGBTQ #GayMarriage #queerLiberation #nationalLiberation #timelines

The victories in Iowa, Vermont and Maine come on the heels of a difficult fall for the LGBT community. Last November the queer rights movement took a hit with the passage of Proposition 8 in California, a ballot initiative that overturned the California Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage. The right wing used queer rights again as a rallying cry for their conservative agenda around the country and won a victory in California. However, these defeats made the comeback this spring that much sweeter.

More victories are expected. Washington D.C. passed a gay marriage bill on May 5. Congress and the president have 30 days to decide whether or not to override the District’s decision. The next day, New Hampshire’s state legislature passed a gay marriage bill that is now awaiting the governor’s approval. According to the Los Angeles Times, it is expected that New York and New Jersey will also legalize gay marriage within a year. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll showed “a sharp shift in public opinion on same-sex marriage. 49% said it should be legal for gay people to marry.” This demonstrates an eleven-point shift from a similar poll conducted by the Washington Post just three years ago.

Public opinion is shifting because of the hard work of the LGBT rights movement. More than ever, queer people have come out of the closet and gone public with their sexuality. LGBT people and our allies are organizing and demonstrating for marriage equality and against laws like Proposition 8. Marriage will not become a right for all without a strong and public movement demanding it. Filing briefs in lawsuits and voting for progressive politicians will not be enough to continue these victories. This fight needs to be waged in the streets, not merely in the courtrooms and legislatures.

Even as we fight for the right to marry, it is important to recognize that it is only one of the battles ahead. No one, queer or straight, should have to be married to have health care. All forms of family should have social and economic acceptance in our society, not just married couples. As we mark the 40th anniversary of Stonewall this summer, it is important to recognize how far we have come, while we continue to struggle for true equality and human rights for all.

#UnitedStates #News #Proposition8 #GayMarriage