The BIGGEST gay rights demonstration in the world will take place on June 28th 2009. The Million Gay March - "Unite for Equality" is under works. Details and logistics are currently being arranged but you can mark your calendars now. In the meantime all proceeds from apparel you buy off of Wear Your Heart goes to support the efforts of the Million Gay March.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Million Gay March - Unite for Equality!
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16 comments:
How exciting! I saw "Milk" last night and I want to march. I'm going to try my damnedest to get to this march.
It is gonna be awesome, I can't wait! I don't know if it will be a March on Washington or just like a national march wherever you are, whatever it is, I am down.
that date is a bad choice that is when most of the major cities have their pride parades and creates a conflict for those of us that are committed to be at those pride parade events. I would suggest since it is early in the planning to move it up a week. The attendance will be much better.
Michael I would rather see a Million March Parade than the hundreds of LGBT prides.
I think we can all forgo a pride test to stand united. That in nut shell is a major part of the problem. We would rather party that unite for the cAuse. This march should be all of our main priority. Strength is in numbers.
Well said, Todd. I think it's time to stand as one.
Michael,
Why can't we march AND party afterwards? This would be the BIGGEST pride event ever to show our solidarity. I don't know how feasible it would be to get all the LGBTQI community & our allies to the same place, but I would be psyched to see it happen & be part of this historic event.
I am not thrilled with the date. I understand the idea that a million gay march might be more important then pride marches, but most places have already started palnning those and have already spent local funds.
That said I will try to make the march. I'm personally for individual marches targeting the capital of every state in teh union (including Alaska, Sara can attend with her gay friends!)
I believe the selection of the date was to coincide with Pride and intentional.
Personally, I'm all for it. Some how, I will be there.
I would NEVER miss this event. Anyone that has an excuse NOT to go doesn't really give a damn about their rights. LGBT is EVERY year. This is much more important to show the world, well you know. blah blah blah. Please just be there.
I'm excited, but I'm going to be picky with what it's called. "Million Gay March"? What about bisexuals/pansexuals, trans folk, and the like?
maybe all the Pride parades should cancel this year and help EVERYONE march in this parade. to paraphrase our new president, this is our time, this is our moment. with all the disgusting Prop 8 'victors' feeling momentum, NOW is the time to let the WORLD know we aren't fooling around, we aren't going back into our dark lives. i have an art show that is closing that day, but i'll just close it a day earlier.
this march is a fantastic idea.
Dear President Obama, I believe by the time you read this you’ll have been inaugurated. My name is Brian and I am a 39 year-old man living in Los Angeles, California, that has been happily teaching high school and college English for 17 years. I am a two time Fulbright, Fund for Teachers, & Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund recipient and I have earned a Master’s degree as well. I am lucky to have a great life, a promising marriage and a wonderfully supportive family! On August 2, 2008 I married my husband Michael,after having met three years prior. Michael is from Malaysia and is finishing his Registered Nursing program this late fall. Our wedding celebration was the most glorious event of our lives! Over 120 of our friends and family came to encircle us with their love and blessings for a fruitful life together, full of love, intimacy and caring. We decided to get married because we love one another and we share the same values and goals. I also married Michael because he is my hero, having come to the United States just three short years ago to pursue his dreams of becoming a nurse. How brave you must be to leave everything you know behind and come to a different country. I know you can relate to that! I was so very lucky to have snatched him up soon after his arrival. A year later I proposed to Michael in 2006, in a surprise atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It was a dream come true for both of us. When we came together to wed on August 2, 2008, we were both overwhelmingly excited. In West Hollywood park, in a circle of rose petals, friends and loved ones, we had our wedding performed flawlessly by our dear friend Donna, with whom I work with and went to Africa with two years ago on an educational grant. As we approached the park at dusk, a sunset glow hallowed our friends as we joined in the circle as Michael's mother (I surprised him by bringing her from half way across the world without his knowledge.), who flew all the way from Malaysia, and his sister in law, escorted him, as both my parents and stepmother walked me into the circle as well. We then shared tea with the elder guests as a sign of reverence, which was a symbol of Michael's culture. After the tea ceremony my stepmother sang a gorgeous Beatles song to us. Our ring ceremony followed and was very special. Each member of the wedding party held a red ribbon, as our two rings were passed with the ribbon going through the two rings around the circle, as each member of the wedding blessed the rings and held our two hearts. This was an extraordinary bonding experience, for our love is forever blessed by everyone we know. We then exchanged our vows with emotional intensity as we were wrapped in a talis, a tradition of my culture. There was not a dry eye in the park! We broke glass and then headed, with our guests, to our lounge reception next door to the park and celebrated all night. It was the best wedding I have ever been to! It all seemed so extraordinary, yet paradoxically it was just like everyone else who has been married before us. Now Michael and I are bonded in the love of our friends and family to live a beautiful life together: So we thought…On November 4, 2008, our lives changed forever. I had the opportunity to vote for the only candidate I have ever believed in into office. That candidate is you! We congratulate you and the entire country for having won and for running the bravest, most positive election in modern times! You managed to stay above the fray and inspire millions! I am overwhelmed just thinking about it now! Tears of joy filled our eyes as the world recognized the United States, once again as a place of hope! However, in the state of California, we were beginning to hear the overwhelmingly sad news that Proposition 8, a proposition that was in favor of changing our state constitution that marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman, had won. We know you were against Proposition 8, even though you may disagree with the wording of using “marriage” between same sexes.We know from you and Vice President Joe Biden that you both support Civil Unions and that you both support that same-sex couples have the same rights as couples of the opposite sex. We have read your letter to the LGBT community several times as a beacon of hope and I have included your words below as a reminder of all of our commitments to global equality! We are now wondering when will all of this happen? We are aware that politically it may not be expedient. That is too bad for the millions awaiting such change.Michael is graduating from Nursing School and will be a registered nurse upon passing his board exam. He has been offered several great jobs from prestigious hospitals, like Cedar Sinai Medical Center, but when he asks about sponsorship he is shockingly turned down, and the jobs revoked. In 2006, the retrogression from the United States Government went into effect, concerning the distribution of H1C Visas for skilled nurses. This has greatly impacted Michael’s and my future together; and since the United States does not recognize our marriage and with Proposition 8 passing in California, we are losing hope, an ideal we inspired to in my vote for you. Now we are unclear as to when you will take a stand and fulfill the promise you have made for same sex couples all over America. We know the economy and the two wars are priority for our country, however we are curious as to when and how you will make these changes for same sex couples everywhere? Will it be part of the first positive changes you will make for our country? We are worried, terrified and just plain saddened by our, and many others, dilemma. For the first time in our lives we feel that there is hope for us with you in the most important office in the world. We are sure you are inundated with requests and mail. We are asking for you to make an executive order or bring quick legislation in order for many same sex couples to live out their American Dreams! Your aids have been quoted this week that you are eager and willing to fulfill your mandate with executive orders and this excites us! We also know that “small things” get brought up in our legislature daily and get passed with expediency. For instance today, the news reported that there is a bill to make sure American flags are made in the USA. Another example is a bill that is being presented to stop scalpers at your own inauguration. I know that is important to the economy, but how many real lives do that effect? I know there are bigger fish to fry! Around the world, activists are stepping up to demand passage of UAFA. Join us fair-minded people, to demand equal immigration rights for same-sex couples. Anything less is un-American! We will pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), but together we will pass it sooner. In the debate we heard in front of tens of millions of people: "…In an Obama-Biden administration, there will be absolutely no distinction from a constitutional standpoint or a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple."On record you have also said, “Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”You are brave! You not only have stood up for such issues but you were bold enough to appoint Rahm Emanuel as your Chief of Staff, one of the 118 House co-sponsors of the UAFA.Our time is running out. We are growingly frustrated by the turns of events in California, where we have taken to the streets, and we are terribly worried about our future together. Will we have to leave the United States of America? I cannot even fathom the thought! This has been my home for 39 years and it is where I have established my life. I am AMERICAN! I should not even have thoughts of leaving the country I love in my mind! Michael and I have discussed this a lot and for the first time in our lives we truly feel like second-class citizens. Could you imagine what that must feel like? Could you imagine contemplating those thoughts TODAY when you look into YOUR own family’s eyes? Please help us live the American Dream and end discrimination in our country for good!We wish you (BEYOND) good luck in your endeavors for the world and we look forward to seeing you grow as a leader. We are amazed by the turn of events and we thank you for your consideration and service. We are also at service to you so please do not hesitate to contact us for any reason! Please look at your letter to the LGBT community from your website. Yes we can! Yes we will! Thank you again!Peace!Brian
I LOVE this date! June 28, 2009 is the 40th Aniversary of Stonewall. The number 40 has biblical significance too...the flood, the exodus. 40 years of struggle from our first "outrage"! This date could not be more perfect. They stole from us, it's time to get angry, Again. 40 years later.
YES! The march date is great! I usually attend Atlanta Pride that weekend along with a quarter of a million other people! I've heard they have moved ATL pride to October. Is this why?? I hope so! We all need to get off our "pride" and go to this event!
If we march one more time in the "gay ghetto", I will not participate. It depends on where we march, if we march in our secure gay neighborhoods then it won't be effective. I will march in Orange County, that to me would be impactful. The point of marching and demonstrations is to create tension and crisis so that the city/state will feel compelled to take action and change. We have to come from the philosophy of non-violent resistance, and be willing to be harassed, hurt, or jailed -- and still not retaliate. Marching in our secure neighborhoods will not create that kind of tension.
Read The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., Edited by Clayborne Carson. It really speaks to the point of direct actions. We need to define where we need to march so that it can be impactful. We need to define what is our equivalent of "sit-ins, jail-ins, kneel ins, etc."; this was the way of the civil rights movement led by MLK and we ought to take advantage of his wisdom and guidance in this struggle for equality and freedom.
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