According to the reactionary
group the National Organization for Marriage, “For over a decade, the
institution of marriage, the very bedrock on which civilized society rests, has
been under attack by radical activists who want to redefine its very meaning.”
This irrational and discriminatory belief spurred NOM to launch a nationwide
“Summer for Marriage Tour,” which ended Aug. 15 near the U.S. Capitol. The tour
held a series of 20 rallies across the country to encourage supporters to
“stand up for marriage,” which they define as being between one man and one
woman.
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To counter NOM’s
message, a coalition made up of organizations, including Full Equality Now! DC
and Freedom To Marry, staged a rally that same day in D.C. called “The Big
Commit,” which drew as many as 400 people.
Notable speakers at
the rally included City Council member David Catania (I-At large) and Will
Phillips, the 10-year-old Arkansas boy who gained the national spotlight after
he refused to say the pledge of allegiance at his elementary school. “There
really isn’t liberty and justice for all, I didn’t want to swear that there
was,” Will told Liberation.
People came out for
the event for a variety of reasons. Some people were self-described “straight
allies” like Will and his father Jay Phillips, while others felt personally
affected by the same-sex marriage struggle.
“I’m gay, so I want
to get married someday to the person that I love, not a straight marriage,”
24-year-old Kylie Gilliams, a Guilford College student, said. Her friend,
Je’Lissa Fowler, 20, a fellow Guilford College student, said the recent
overturn of Prop. 8 was a sign that things were moving in the right direction, although
sometimes she feels frustrated that things are not moving fast enough.
Chantilly, Va.,
residents, John Gagon, 39, and his husband Mike Eversoll, 35, came specifically
to counter-protest NOM. The two men married one month ago in D.C., and at the
rally Eversoll held a copy of their marriage certificate.
Although the rally
focused on marriage equality, the connection between the same-sex marriage
struggle and the immigrant rights struggle was not lost on participants. Paul
Crist, 52, a D.C. resident, has been with his partner, Luis Tello for eight
years. Although they were married three years ago, Crist cannot sponsor his
husband for permanent residency in the United States. As a result, Crist and
Tello, a Mexican citizen, have been separated since May.
An estimated 36,000
bi-national same-sex couples face the same dilemma as Crist and Tello,
according to the advocacy group Immigration Equality. These couples face the
tough choice of either being separated or staying together but leaving the
United States. However, for financial reasons leaving the U.S. is not always a
viable option. “It’s an issue of equality, our immigration policies are supposed
to be based on family unification. I can’t get family unification, and that’s
not equal,” Crist said.
The bigotry against same-sex marriage and undocumented workers, as
well as all people of color, the Muslim community and others, demonstrates the
lengths to which corporate-backed politicians will go to divide working people.
Bigotry flourishes when communities that should unite remain divided. This is
why it is so crucial to stand not only for the civil rights of one group, but
for the civil rights of all oppressed groups.
