ENDA, marriage equality and moving the ball forward
Filed by: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss
November 5, 2008 12:30 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/11/enda_marriage_equality_and_moving_the_ball_forward.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2008/11/enda_marriage_equality_and_moving_the_ball_forward.php)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I am elated at President-elect Obama's (how I love saying that phrase) resounding electoral college win, slightly dismayed at the margin of the popular vote (although it is practically a "mandate" compared to previous elections), and overwhelmingly sad at the level of prejudice displayed against LGBT people in California, Arizona, Arkansas and Florida. It is not yet clear whether California's Prop 8 will pass or not, but the closeness of it shows how many people are against us.
I will spend today reveling in the accomplishment and recovering from the blow. I spent this morning commiserating with Larry Flick on Sirius OutQ, who was devastated by the bad news, and the many callers who expressed their disappointment, anger and despair. But tomorrow, I will put away my disappointment and get back to advocacy work. I hope that a lot of you will, too.
It seems almost too much to bear, coming as it does so soon after the ENDA debacle last year. I was also overwhelmed with despair and grief then too. But I have come to be much more philosophic about these things. In fact, although I was very angry with Barney Frank then, I've come around to his point of view on how to get it accomplished. Indeed, I will take the same position about marriage equality that Barney Frank took about gender identity in ENDA.