Dec 05, 2008  |  By: PETER ROSENSTEIN  | COMMENTS     

THOUSANDS MARCH ACROSS the nation to protest the passage of Proposition 8,” screamed the headlines. Five thousand protesters in D.C., 10,000 in Los Angeles, thousands in Boston and San Francisco and smaller but still passionate protests in Grand Forks and Fargo.

The question now: How do we harness this amazing energy to build for the future? If we can generate this kind of reaction to a defeat, how do we generate it in the future to ensure victory?

If we are to make progress on marriage equality, an inclusive ENDA and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, it will be because we generate the kind of energy around the nation that was created by this loss. We need to reach members of Congress where they live and generate the support for our issues in communities large and small across the nation. We need to enlist the many in the faith community who are on our side, and the moderate Republicans who are on our side, along with black and Latino leaders who stand with us.

This won’t be an easy thing to do, but do it we must if we want to continue to make significant progress in our quest for equal rights.

In the fight for ENDA last year, many members of Congress who agreed to vote for an ENDA bill that protected gays and lesbians wouldn’t vote for the bill if transgender people were included. No demand by the House leadership was going to get their votes for two reasons: First, many didn’t really understand the meaning of transgender; second, some felt that even if they understood they couldn’t justify that vote to their constituents who didn’t in the next election. In the future, if we can harness the energy displayed by members of our community and our straight allies after the defeat of Prop 8, we have a chance to change this outcome.

Years ago, I recommended that we either start a real GLBT membership organization, or turn HRC into one. A donor isn’t automatically a member, which is what HRC hasn’t yet fully dealt with. We need to find a way to replicate for the GLBT community what AARP has done for seniors. I don’t mean GLBT seniors, but rather the concept of an organization for all those who believe in rights for the GLBT community.

This would be an organization that people can join for $7-10 a year and get a bill for dues. Members would receive value of some sort for joining. Maybe a regular online newsletter, discounts at Starbucks or McDonalds, or something else that people actually could use that have nothing to do with GLBT issues. This would let our community track and reach those who are not GLBT activists, or even members of the GLBT community, but are willing from time to time wherever they live to join us to fight for our rights.

I wonder what a Facebook campaign asking all those thousands of demonstrators who came out could amount to if we asked them to join such a group for $7 and share their e-mail address so we could stay in touch. In D.C., the demonstration in the rain had as many straight young men and women as gay people. We need to reach them again to stay involved.

ONE YOUNG LEADER of the D.C. demonstration against the passage of Prop 8 raised a number of serious questions. Would such an organization be tailored specifically to the LGBTQ community, or would it be formed under a “human rights” or “equal rights” banner? He asked whether HRC can effectively make space for non-LGBTQ allies in the struggle for equal rights for gays. His use of the term “LGBTQ” alone indicates a new generation of thought. He asked how we can incorporate online organizations such as Join the Impact/March for Equal Rights and capture their ability to reach the grassroots.

Another issue he identified should be an obvious one to many in the community. It is a fact that information simply isn’t flowing from national level organizations like HRC or the Task Force to grassroots level online organizations. The result is that a lot of people at the grassroots level are missing the bigger message and the leadership of the national organizations is having problems transforming into truly effective leaders with a mass following.

WE ALSO NEED to look at how we expect to harness the energy to push things like a trans-inclusive ENDA if there isn’t a single mention in any of the media coverage ...