HRC's President Joe Solmonese responds to critics and Obama's Speech

Watching the Marchers

Thanks to Sistertalk for the clip

Hey Marchers

Hey all

If you are going to the National Equality March, please be safe, be good and represent our community well.

All eyes are on us, so represent for realz.

And please none of these tired "big dick contest at the club" "sex parties" or "hook-up games". This is an Equality March, not Dore Alley!

Get it together and stay together. Y'all are there, so y'all better bring it!

Randall Terry believes we are Cultural Axis of Evil

Maybe this can get Andy and the gang to focus their protest elsewhere.

Randall Terry, Director, Operation Rescue Insurrecta Nex, is gathering forces to combat the National Equality March supporters.

This is what he had to say:

"The child-killing movement and the 'homosexual marriage' have formed an unbreakable bond - a 'cultural axis of evil' - because they both spring from the same root: the rejection of God's Law and Natural Law concerning human sexuality and procreation.

"President Obama does America and the nations of the world a great disservice by legitimizing this self destructive, degrading behavior by speaking at the HRC banquet. On one day he speaks at Notre Dame, talking about the common good, and then proceeds to attack life and marriage in his policies, thereby destroying the common good. It is shameful."

He also has a press release:

Christians will gather at two key locations to remind homosexual marchers that God loves them, and they can be redeemed, but society cannot "normalize" a self-destructive behavior that can rob a human being of their eternal soul. Christians will bear witness to the truth: God made marriage to be a sacred covenant and sacrament between a man and a woman, and His Laws and order cannot be nullified - not by them, not by the Courts, and not by President Obama.

Times and Locations:

Saturday Evening, Oct 10, 6:00 PM: Location of Human Rights Coalition Banquet, at which President Obama is the keynote speaker. Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. 801 Mount Vernon Pl NW, Washington, DC.

Sunday, Oct 11, 12:00 Noon: National Equality March Parade route, Southeast Quadrant of Lafayette Park, across from White House.

I urge our folks to be ready and join together. This group has a large following and more of them are coming out this weekend. So stay strong and get ready.

Bill O'Reilly and Wayne Besen discuss Obama's HRC dinner appearance

Bill seems excited and happy about the protest

GaGa's going to the National Equality March

Will there be any discussions about Diversity, Social Justice or Race Relations at the National Equality March?

I was looking at the schedule of events for the National Equality March and I noticed there were no workshops discussing race relations or diversity.

I was hoping this event would present opportunities for such conversations, but so far, I'm not seeing any time devoted to those matters.

Maybe I missing something, but I think it's imperative to have these discussions at this march. One of our major problem areas is the lack of outreach to communities of color. Plus, many LGBT communities of color continue to feel alienated from the overall LGBT family.

Why not take this time to address those issues and create some action steps to improve our relations? This is the perfect time, the perfect place. In order to achieve any of our goals we need to be an united and welcoming front.

As I said, maybe I missed it, but I hope it gets addressed someway, somehow.

QueerToday.com voices concerns about the National Equality March

QueerToday.com founder, Mark Daniel Snyder voices his concerns about the Equality March.

Very refreshing and interesting views. I would love to hear your thoughts about this.

Also check out QueerToday.com.

Julian Bond is going to March... Equality March that is

NAACP Board Chairman Julian Bond has announced that he's endorsing the National Equality March.

He said:

"GLBT rights are civil rights; there are no 'special rights' in America. Everyone has rights - or should have - and I am happy to join in this battle for justice and fairness."

With this endorsement, will the rest of the NAACP come to call?

Organizers for the National LGBT March may need to freshen up their Planning Skills

Great Hera! Our national march thwarted by poor planning?

The organizers of the proposed march on Washington should have checked with the National Parks Service before they began announcing the October dates for that event.

"It's unavailable," a parks service staffer said when Gay City News asked if the National Mall was booked on October 10, 11, and 12, the dates that some organizers have announced for the march.

Three different organizations have permits to hold events on those days on the National Mall, the setting for the gay community's four prior national marches.

Collectively, the three groups are expecting in excess of 135,000 people, which would mean that even if the organizers of the proposed march could get a permit -- and it is doubtful that they could as most groups file for a permit a year in advance -- the gay marchers would be joining a three-day walk-a-thon against breast cancer, a Treasury Department event, and the Million Man March for God.

This is not cute. Somebody should have been on it. Hell, my student leaders are better planners than this.

Again...Are we ready for a civil rights movement?

Source

Is a National LGBT March on the way?

I just read from several blogs about the National LGBT March. David Mixner and Cleve Jones are on board and ready to go.

From David's blog, he states:

Our freedom can't be negotiated in the political offices of the White House and in the halls of Congress. Our goal is not to make their path easier but to ensure that young LGBT citizens will not be beaten, denied the right to serve, have their love demeaned in some sort of separate but equal system or excluded from giving their gifts and talents freely to this nation. At this moment, there is very little movement on any of these issues in the White House and it appears that some even believe we should be happy with just hate crimes legislation being passed this year.

I adore President Obama but not enough to allow his team to delay my freedom for political convenience or comfort. It is unacceptable.

My plea is for our LGBT leaders to call a March on Washington for Marriage Equality this November and if they won't do it, I appeal to our young to come together and provide the leadership.

Cleve had this to say (via Towleroad):

I applaud and endorse David Mixner's call for a national march with the following four suggestions:

— Schedule the march for the weekend of October 10 - 11, 2009. This is National Coming Out Day and the 30th anniversary of the first national march. Several subsequent marches and AIDS Memorial Quilt displays have also occurred on those dates. The Columbus Day holiday provides a three-day weekend for many and the weather is generally favorable.

— Have one demand only: “Full Equality Now - full and equal protection under the law for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” Let's stop settling for fractions of equality. Every compromise undermines our humanity. We must declare our equality.

— Organize the march from the grassroots with a decentralized internet-based campaign. Keep it simple; avoid bloated budgets and cumbersome structures. The primary objective must be to turn out the largest possible crowd. We don't need elaborate and expensive staging or fabulous dinner parties and concerts - we need a million or more people in the street demanding equality now.

— Encourage and enlist our allies in the broader progressive movement to build the march. Involve the labor movement, racial, ethnic and immigrant communities, progressive faith leaders, peace and social justice advocates and other supporters. LGBT people of all ages and races recognize the challenges facing our nation and our planet. We are eager to stand, as equals, with our fellow citizens in meeting these challenges.

We are on the verge of a new chapter in the history of our country and our movement. There is a bold new spirit and a powerful new resolve within our communities. Now is the time. We are equal.

Okay, good stuff. Now comes the questions.

Are we really ready for this? This ain't a pride event or Folsom, this our reality. People have to be ready to roll with this.

What are the plans? Yes, Cleve laid out some things... but how would we put those suggestions into action?

Will folks show up? I know they will, but will it be effective? Will we have the visibility needed to make an impact?

And is this the right time?

I'm curious to know what y'all think. A march sounds good, but I also believe we need to think things through. We should feel ready and be ready for this. If we are not solid on the reasons and purpose, this can fail.