Aug 24, 2007   | COMMENTS     

ON AUG. 9, THE Human Rights Campaign and the Logo TV network hosted what was billed as the “first GLBT forum” for the Democratic candidates. “Forum?” What I saw that night looked more like gays and lesbians questioning the candidates on one thing and one thing only: marriage.

Yes, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was mentioned, as was “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the hate crimes bill, HIV, immigration, medicinal marijuana and the bark beetle. But, all combined, the time spent on those issues wasn’t anywhere near the time the panel spent badgering the candidates about the difference between marriage and civil unions.

I quickly noticed the lack of important transgender issues asked by the panel.  I figured that Melissa Etheridge wouldn’t ask any trans-related questions and Jonathan Capehart has actually written articles stating that transgender people shouldn’t be included in any legislation.

I did hold out hope that Joe Solmonese would ask some tough trans-related question, but that vanished when he asked John Edwards the one and only “T” question in this “GLBT forum.”

Solmonese asked Edwards what he would say if one of his staff members came to him and stated they wanted to transition. What did he think Edwards would say? “I’d kick them out?” Even most Republicans would have answered the question the same way Edwards did. It’s wonderful to see that transgender people have finally reached the level of warranting the same amount of seriousness as the New Mexican bark beetle.

I get the impression that when it comes to working for our rights, some groups want to jump ahead in the process. If efforts and money were put to bear on passing the most acceptable of equal rights legislation first, then on up, each following effort would be easier because of the successes that preceded it.

To me, there is a logical progression to all of this. Arguably, the most acceptable of all the rights legislation to pass is the hate crimes bill, called the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act. We should focus all our efforts on that and nothing else until the Senate passes it. In the long time that it takes Congress to actually accomplish this, we also lobby those people on the fence and plan the next phase behind closed doors.

NEXT UP IS passing ENDA and repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” They would both be equally difficult, but not impossible if all GLBT people focused on them and them alone.  Keep in mind that when DADT is gone, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will shut its doors and those lawyers would spread out to the rest of the gay community to help in other areas.

When those issues have been addressed and “put to bed,” then we should focus on getting Congress to repeal or amend the Real ID Act and the Permanent Partners Immigration Act. As it stands right now, the Real ID Act could devastate transgender people by forcing many to revert to their birth name and gender.

The PPIA will not allow legally married same-sex couples to reside in the United States as a couple, even if one person is a U.S. citizen. It also affects legally married transgender people the same way. Around the same time, I would also like to see the entire GLBT community work together in ending discrimination in the Veterans Administration toward our transgender veterans.

THROUGH ALL OF this, marriage and civil unions should remain silent issues — at least silent to the straight public. Tactics and strategies can be formed behind closed doors, while focusing our primary efforts on the passable issues.

When all the various above issues have been resolved, think of all the money that would be freed up to focus on marriage. We can lobby the president and Congress on repealing DOMA, while targeting the weakest states to repeal their “one man, one woman” amendments.

To further illustrate this, think about building a house. Hate crimes is the easiest bill to pass, so it’s our foundation.  Passing ENDA, repealing DADT, amending the Real ID Act and PPIA are the walls. Ending discrimination against transgender veterans in the VA is the plumbing and wiring. Civil unions is the roof structure and marriage is the shingles. You don’t build a house upside down.  Even butch lesbians can tell you that.  Why is it so difficult for our “managers” to understand this?