Aug 28, 2009   | COMMENTS     

To the Editors: Re: “Stop talking to buildings, start talking to people” (op-ed by Toni Broaddus, Aug. 21)

In a condescending put-down of the National Equality March, Toni Broaddus gives the national community some very bad advice. Broaddus urges the grassroots LGBT folks who were energized by passage of Proposition 8 to ditch plans for a march on D.C. and converge on Maine instead. This is a false dichotomy: It is possible to support equality in Maine while joining the national LGBT community in the first coming-together in Washington of the 21st century. Moreover, any ventures into the Maine political environment must respect the wisdom and autonomy of the folks Down East.

Given the haste to bury plans for the march on Washington, Broaddus neglects to recommend that would-be equality activists coordinate with the pro-equality campaign in Maine to offer support on the terms that would be most effective. No attention is given to what Mainers consider the best approach to bolstering equality in the Pine Tree State. The No on 1 campaign is not trying to divert the thousands of people who would otherwise march on Washington to descend on Maine en masse instead.

Many Downeasters are wary of outsiders, and unlikely to embrace people like Maggie Gallagher and Tony Perkins seeking to import their culture wars. Indeed, messages supporting marriage equality have stressed the importance of Mainers having their own debate on the issue without being overrun by outsiders. Support for marriage equality must be indigenous and have “Made in Maine” authenticity.

If you can assist in Maine, find out what Equality Maine needs you to do: http://67.199.35.190/index.cfm. Downeasters are best equipped to persuade their fellows about marriage equality, and best know how out-of-staters can help.

In Washington, where activists from everywhere are welcome and encouraged to come Oct. 10-11, we can explore ways to support marriage equality without a sudden invasion of Maine by out-of-staters not in coordination with the No on 1 campaign. And we can bring greater cohesion to the grassroots emergence that followed in the wake of Proposition 8, but has since transcended its origins.

DON GORTON
Boston
Editors’ note: The writer is a board member of Join the Impact Massachusetts.

Gays in the military shouldn’t have to lie

To the Editors:

In response to the ongoing controversy over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, President Obama owes us an answer to this obvious political question: How is it possible to compromise when it comes to treating LGBT people like human beings?

Gay people in the U.S. military are now being dehumanized by being robbed of three interrelated things: freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the ability to engage in self-defense. You do not have freedom of speech or freedom of religion if you are not allowed to say how your religious beliefs relate to your own personal life. And you can hardly defend yourself without talking about yourself. Wild animals defend themselves with teeth and claws. Human beings defend themselves with words. How can any gay people now serving in the U.S. military defend themselves against libel and slander?

Gay people in the U.S. military are forced to engage in immoral conduct — by being pressured to lie about themselves and by being pressured into posing as heterosexuals.

The spectacle of recruits being made to choose between immoral conduct and being discharged gives the whole world an ugly picture of “military honor” in the U.S. armed forces.

ROBERT WOODWARD
Lakewood, Ohio

COMMUNITY BLOGGERS

From the editors: The Blade recently launched a community blogging initiative and we’re looking for more contributors. Share your knowledge of D.C., its politics, history, social scene and whatever else is on your mind. We’re looking for writers already familiar with the protocols of blogging who need some online exposure. If you’re interested in being considered, contact our online editor, Rebecca Armendariz, at rarmendariz@washblade.com.

Our first two bloggers are now hard at work. Jamelle Thomas is a D.C. native and award-winning writer of scripts for stage and screen. Visit washingtonblade.com for her take on what it means to be out, the role of black lesbians in the movement and more.

Erwin de Leon is a researcher at a think tank in D.C. and a doctoral candidate at the New School in New York City. He relocated to the District in 2007. Erwin is a native of the Philippines. He has written about D.C.’s gay Asian community, among other topics.

Visit washingtonblade.com to read the latest from Jamelle and Erwin and to post your own comments about their work.