Real Talk: Full Equality, not Marriage Equality, should be on the DNC Platform

My Post from Bilerico Project

Okay, okay, enough with this Evolve Already gay marriage plank business. Yes, I get it, we want Obama to support gay marriage and open the doors to marriage madness all over the country. But have we sat back and truly thought about this? We are trying to make someone evolve on our timetable versus when they are ready. Can you tell me how and when that actually works?

I hate to say it, but I believe this marriage equality plank initiative has clouded our thinking. Let's take a minute to process this notion. Out of all of the LGBT issues, marriage is the main subject we want the DNC and President to support overall? No. That's not a smart plan at all. If we are creating a LGBT plank to be included in the DNC platform, it needs to be inclusive of our entire community; meaning everyone in the L-G-B-T family.

Our needs are very diverse within the LGBT community. While gay marriage is cute for a privileged few, it is not a priority to many others. For most people in our community, matters like job security, healthcare or housing takes top shelf. When you are faced with social and economic disparities, the idea of marriage may not be on the forefront. In other words, how can I think about marriage when I can be fired for even talking about my partner at work?

Then, we have to think about anti-bullying laws. An additional piece to our LGBT plank should be safe schools and anti-bullying enforcement. Our children need a safe space to fully develop into their own person. No child should be subjected to consistent bullying and harassment in the classrooms.

So to wrap this up, I'll just be real; marriage equality is not the LGBT priority, full equality is. This is the main initiative our community should be putting on the President's table. A full equality plank will showcase all our needs as a community.