We're all in this together
Transmissions
Published 10/07/2010
by Gwendolyn Ann Smith
http://www.ebar.com/columns/column.php?sec=transmissions&article=147 (http://www.ebar.com/columns/column.php?sec=transmissions&article=147)
So often within our community we find ourselves acting like warring factions, each trying to get our voices heard, each scrambling for what little piece of equality we can gain for our people. We know of the long fight for transgender inclusion in legislation like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or debates over the amount of importance put on high-profile fights like same-gender marriage or repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Caught between Republican administrations that are often openly hostile, and Democratic administrations that pay us lip service, we find ourselves up against each other in our struggles.
We live in a country where our rights should not be left to the whim of an increasingly narrow-minded majority, where our basic needs and desires end up bargained away by gun-shy politicians who quite simply don't care enough about the needs of their LGBT constituents to stand up to the shouts of a shrill right wing.