Out Spotlight C

Today's Out Spotlight is the National Equality March. Next Sunday, October 11, 2009, tens of thousands will come from all over the United States to gather in Washington DC in order send a message to the Nation, the United States Congress and the President, a message that ALL citizens of the United States are equal and all should have equal rights.

The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution states: Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This means ALL people and this includes the right to marry whomever they wish and not be discriminated against because of how and whom they chose to love.

The National Equality March is to remind the nation, Congress and the President of the United States that DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996, which defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional and should be repealed.

President Barack Obama's election platform included the full repeal of DOMA. However, on June 12, 2009 the Department of Justice issued a brief defending the constitutionality of DOMA in the case of Smelt v. United States of America, suggesting a sharp reversal by the Obama administration. On June 15, 2009, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese sent a four page letter to President Obama in response to the Department of Justice brief, in which he laid out the case of LGBT people as equal human beings and urged, "We call on you to put your principles into action and send legislation repealing DOMA to Congress. On September 15, 2009, representatives Jerry Nadler of New York, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Jared Polis of Colorado introduced the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA. The bill had 91 original cosponsors.

Longtime gay activist David Mixner, who called for a national march on Washington said the march “to empower our young and to show the nation that anything less than full freedom is unacceptable.”



This is why the March for Equality is so important, the voice of a nation calling for change and holding those accountable for the promises they made.

The March will begin at 12:00 noon and will end on the west lawn of the Capitol building with a rally following beginning around 2:00 p.m. with three hours of inspirational speeches and music. Thirty speakers representing the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and its straight allies, will include: David Mixner; national March co-chairs Cleve Jones, Lt. Dan Choi, and Nicole-Murray Ramirez; Julian Bond, civil rights leader and Chairman of the Board for the NAACP, the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the U.S, St. Olaf college student Richard Aviles speaking on behalf of student activists; Judy Shepard, who lost her son Matthew because of anti-gay hate, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, Former US Rep Michael Huffington, Reverend Troy Perry, Comedian/Activist Kate Clinton, to name a few.

The producers of Hair, on Broadway, have announced that the musical will be going dark on Sunday, October 11th so its cast can go to Washington and support the March.

As Destiny told OMG about NFL Player/Pro Bowler, New Orleans Saints,Scott Fujita. Listen to his interview support the March and the call for equality.

The march and rally are a culmination of events from the weekend kicking off on Friday October 9, with workshops, groups and gathering of people united for equality.

Some OMG'ers will be traveling to Washington for the National March, but there is something for each one of us to do. For those who live in the US find a group who is gathering in your area that day, and write your Representatives in Washington asking for the repeal of Defense of Marriage Act. For those outside the U.S. stay informed about your own country's rights for the LGBT community and become a voice of change and a supporter of equality with you live, and encourage your government to ask the US to repeal their discriminative laws against LGBTs.

This march is not the final step but the first one in building a national grassroots network that will continue until full equality is achieved

This isn't about getting MORE rights, it's about getting the SAME rights.

In honor of Phyllis Lyon and in memory of Del Martin.

National Equality March
National Equality March Weekend Events
No Fractions of Equality - Writing your Representative

The winner of the song of The National Equality March.