Leaders of 22 national GLBT organizations issued an unprecedented joint statement on the unity and purpose of their working together to achieve full civil rights for all Americans. It was released Jan. 13.
The unity statement comes after a campaign season that saw passage of every antigay state marriage amendment that was placed on the ballot. Few of the community's political friends gave vocal support to the idea of full equity for GLBT Americans during those campaigns or during congressional debates on the federal marriage amendment.
Many gay voters were depressed by the election outcome. And newspaper accounts of the post-election period played up the blame game and aspects of discontent within and between those organizations.
The joint statement comes as an effort to reassure the community and refocus its energies toward a common strategy rather than dissipate it with infighting. It strives to create a meaningful context of the progress that the gay civil-rights movement has made, and the priorities for continuing that work.
'The histories of America's civil-rights movements—and their successes in securing equal protection of the law for those denied it—have always been shaped by the complex interweaving of legal victories, political progress and advances in public opinion,' it began. They ticked off impressive victories in just the last 18 months; the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the last vestiges of state sodomy laws; Massachusetts marrying same-sex couples; California enacting the nation's most expansive domestic-partnership law; and just last week, Illinois passing comprehensive gay civil-rights legislation.
And they surveyed ongoing polling data showing that over the years the American public has become increasingly supportive of equality for GLBT Americans.
In December, People magazine asked President and Mrs. Bush about civil unions. 'Is a couple joined by that kind of legal arrangement as much of a family as, say, you two are a family?' 'Of course,' President Bush replied. That set a new standard for the national dialog about same-sex relationships; a standard that would have been unimaginable a few short years ago.
The leaders concluded, 'The speed with which our movement is advancing on all fronts is absolutely historic—and it hasn't happened by chance or by accident.'
The statement compared the national organizations with an orchestra. 'We play different instruments—lobbying, electoral politics, impact litigation, grassroots organizing, public education, media advocacy and more—and we are dedicated to playing them well.' It acknowledged varying focuses and strategies but a shared 'number of common priorities that will help shape and unite our work in the months and years to come.' It listed eight items as among those priorities:
We must fight for equal employment opportunity, benefits and protections—and the federal and state laws that safeguard them.
We must fight against anti-LGBT violence and for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate-crimes law that already protects Americans based on race, religion and national origin.
We must fight—in both the private and public sectors—for better access to healthcare and insurance. We must advocate for HIV/AIDS policies—including age-appropriate, LGBT-inclusive comprehensive sexuality education—that effectively address this epidemic at home and abroad.
We must insist on safe schools, where youth can learn free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.
We must fight for family laws that give our children strong legal ties to their parents.
We must work to overturn the military's discriminatory anti-LGBT ban, which dishonors servicemembers who serve their country with valor and distinction.
We must continue to expose the radical right's efforts to advance a culture of prejudice and intolerance, and we must fight their attempts to enshrine anti-gay bigotry in our state and federal laws and constitutions.
And we must continue our vigorous fight for the freedom to marry and the equal protections, rights and responsibilities that safeguard our families, strengthen our commitments, and continue to transform understanding of our lives and our relationships.
Coming out to family, friends, and in the workplace remains the single most important action that everyone can take to better advance an understanding of the GLBT community and the achievement of full and equal rights.
'By virtue of who we are, we're a community. But it is by virtue of the decisions we make that we become part of a movement—a civil-rights movement working together to create a better, more hopeful world limited only by our ability to envision its promise and experience all that it has to offer.'
Those organizations joining:
American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) Lesbian & Gay Rights Project
Equality Federation
Freedom to Marry
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Human Rights Campaign
Lambda Legal
Log Cabin Republicans
Mautner Project
National Association of LGBT Community Centers
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Youth Advocacy Coalition
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
Sigamos Adelante: National Latino/Hispanic LGBT Leadership
Stonewall Democrats
