THERE
IS
A
T-SHIRT
hanging
in
my
closet
that
dates
back
to
the
2000
march
on
Washington
for
gay
and
lesbian
rights.
My
then-lover
and
I
bought
the
matching
T-shirts
because
of
the
funny,
double-entendre
statements
on
them.
“I
can’t
even
walk
straight,”
mine
says.
His
read,
“I
can’t
even
think
straight.”
Mostly,
we
bought
them
both
for
fun,
because
they
were
clever.
But
naturally
we
were
aware
of
the
political
suggestion
behind
them.
It
was,
after
all,
a
political
march
on
the
nation’s
capital.
We
bought
the
souvenir
T-shirts
at
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
store,
just
off
DuPont
Circle.
Neither
of
us
intended
our
nonchalant
purchases
to
be
construed
as
any
kind
of
political
endorsement
of
HRC,
or
membership
in
the
organization.
But
after
discovering
the
rather
crafty
way
that
the
group
that
bills
itself
as
the
nation’s
largest
gay
and
lesbian
rights
organization
counts
its
membership,
I
can’t
help
but
wonder
if
I
am
an
unwitting
member
of
an
organization
I
never
intended
to
join.
And
I
can’t
help
but
wonder
just
how
many
other
gay
men
and
lesbians
around
the
country
are,
too.
Even
worse
than
feeling
deceived
about
whether
I
am
counted
as
a
member
of
HRC
against
my
will,
I
can’t
help
but
think:
If
HRC
fudges
its
membership
numbers
simply
to
get
political
clout,
how
else
are
they
misrepresenting
the
organization
that
claims
to
be
the
most
powerful
group
in
the
country
fighting
for
gay
and
lesbian
rights?
And
if
they
would
misrepresent
even
this
most
basic,
elementary
issue,
why
should
I
trust
them
on
other,
more
important
things?
Indeed,
how
can
I
trust
them?
HRC
CLAIMS
TO
HAVE
a
membership
of
650,000
people.
That
number
easily
makes
it
the
largest
national
gay
and
lesbian
rights
group
in
the
country.
In
fact,
that
number
dwarfs
the
reported
membership
of
other
name-brand
gay
rights
groups.
The
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force,
also
located
in
Washington
D.C.,
reports
a
membership
of
approximately
20,000.
Parents
&
Friends
of
Lesbians
&
Gays,
better
known
as
PFLAG,
weighs
in
at
just
about
44,500
members.
The
National
Center
for
Lesbian
Rights
registers
it
has
about
9,000
members.
All
of
this
makes
HRC’s
number
look
pretty
impressive.
Until
you
know
how
the
group
counts
its
“members.”
As
detailed
in
a
recent
Washington
Blade
news
article,
HRC’s
bylaws
define
members
as
anyone
who
has
contributed
$1
or
more,
whether
as
a
gift
or
payment
for
goods
and
services
delivered
by
HRC.”
The
group’s
spokesperson,
Steven
Fisher,
told
the
Blade
that
once
someone
gives
or
pays
$1
or
more
to
HRC
and
provides
a
name
and
address,
they’re
counted
as
a
member
for
life.
He
defended
this
unusual
way
of
counting
members
by
saying,
“The
GLBT
movement
is
unique.
When
we
come
out
of
the
closet,
we
commit
for
life.”
Apparently,
we
commit
in
death,
too.
HRC
does
not
proactively
clean
out
its
membership
rolls.
The
agency
pays
for
a
service
that
tracks
when
an
address
is
no
longer
valid,
but
otherwise
those
who
know
the
member
must
inform
HRC
for
a
name
to
be
removed
from
the
rolls.
GIVEN
THIS
ODD
accounting
system,
it’s
no
wonder
that
HRC’s
membership
rolls
have
skyrocketed
since
1990.
That
year,
the
group
listed
a
membership
of
20,000
people.
Just
five
years
later,
reported
membership
had
increased
five-fold,
to
100,000.
In
the
past
decade,
HRC’s
official
membership
numbers
increased
650
percent,
to
today’s
whopping
650,000.
It’s
easy
to
understand
why
HRC,
or
any
political
rights
organization,
would
want
to
have
the
highest
possible
membership
it
could
record.
There
is
not
only
safety
in
numbers,
but
power
in
them,
too.
When
you
are
lobbying
Congress,
the
more
people
you
can
claim
to
represent,
the
more
likely
members
of
Congress
will
be
to
pay
attention,
and
ultimately
vote
in
your
favor.
But
it’s
disgraceful
that
HRC
would
engage
in
such
a
misleading
representation
of
who
they
are
and
how
many
gay
and
lesbian
Americans
support
it.
It
appears
that
HRC
does
know
how
many
real
members
it
has,
but
they’re
not
telling.
Prospective
members
are
told
on
HRC’s
Web
site
and
in
membership
materials
that
dues
are
$35
and
must
be
paid
annually.
“Active
members”
of
HRC
are
those
who
pay
dues
annually.
Someone
who
buys
a
product
at
an
HRC
store
would
not
be
counted
as
an
“active
member.”
HRC
spokesperson
Fisher
acknowledged
to
the
Blade
that
the
organization’s
number
of
“active
members”
is
substantially
less
than
its
number
of
total
“members.”
But
he
refused
to
tell
what
that
number
was.
“We
do
know
the
current
number
of
‘active
members,’”
Fisher
told
the
Blade.
“But
we
don’t
publish
it
because
our
enemies
would
love
to
know.”
Well,
guess
what,
Mr.
Fisher.
I’m
not
an
enemy
of
gay
rights,
and
I’m
pretty
curious
to
know,
myself.
THE
TRUTH
IS,
it
matters
less
to
me,
and
to
most
people,
I
suspect,
what
the
actual
HRC
membership
number
is
than
it
does
that
the
organization
has
deliberately
obfuscated
the
truth
behind
the
numbers.
Most
of
us
are
...
