Press

Promise and Peril

Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman speaks on the fight for same-sex marriage and what the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community needs to do to prepare for this battle.

There's never been a time of greater promise and greater peril for our community. In just a few short weeks, the confluence of marriage in Canada, the Lawrence decision, and the expected marriage ruling from the Massachusetts supreme court has dramatically altered the national and intra-community debate about our lives, our families, and our legal rights.

On the one hand, depending on what Massachusetts does, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people could be married right here in the good 'ole USA within weeks, just like what happened after the pro-gay marriage decision in Ontario in May. On the other hand, images of our couples getting hitched in Boston will undoubtedly provoke a backlash the likes of which we have never seen. No doubt, Congress will feel extraordinary pressure to again "defend marriage." And they have lots of options to inflict harm - anything from denying federal funds to any state that recognizes our marriages or anything close to it, like Civil Unions, to approving a constitutional amendment to cement our second class citizenship for decades to come.

Within our community, many see this opening for marriage as the shining pathway to equal rights under the law. Others see it as the antithesis of liberation, the epitome of assimilation, and forever short circuiting the progress we have made in winning new forms of legal recognition and protections for families that don't come with all the negative baggage of marriage. And still others are ambivalent, downright confused, or both. Where does all of this leave us?

First and foremost, let's admit the extraordinary peril we face. Gay rights and abortion have always been the new right's top whipping boys. Every small step we've won has not only been excoriated as another mortal blow to Judeo-Christian values but also served as an extraordinarily potent fundraising and organizing tool. Since Lawrence, the right has gone into overdrive. "The sacrament of marriage cannot be defiled! Armageddon is at hand!"

Make no mistake, this backlash won't be just about "gay marriage." It will be about defaming and demonizing us in every hideous way possible and to roll back the limited rights we've won in some parts of the country.

If Massachusetts goes for marriage (or if New Jersey does in a couple of years), the right will demand that Congress send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to "one man and one woman." (Beware: this amendment is read by most legal experts to not only outlaw the recognition of "gay" marriage, but anything that comes close to it, like civil unions or the comprehensive domestic partnership bill moving forward in California.) At the moment, it looks like our side has the Senate votes - 34 - to block it. But in the 37 states with DOMA's and in congress in 1996, we've seen our "friends" repeatedly run for cover when the "M" word is trotted out.

(Imagine the impact if we have to fight the amendment state-by-state. Progress on everything else will grind to a halt as our community's scarce financial and people resources are sucked dry in ugly, expensive and purely defensive battles.)

Pundits may be right that the Bushies do not want this to be an issue in the 2004 race. Maybe so, but if Massachusetts breaks our way, they won't have a choice. The right will raise this as a do or die issue, and if you think this administration will choose us over them, I have a nice bridge to sell you. (Moreover, Karl Rove won't hesitate to deploy this issue to make sure the right turns out in droves for Bush if there's continued slippage in the president's approval ratings.)

What can we do?

First and foremost, everyone in the community no matter where he or she is on marriage - for, against, don't know or don't care - must unite to fight the backlash. If we do not, we will lose. Period.

Second, because we cannot win this by ourselves, each of us must speak openly and directly to our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers. As the national atmosphere becomes poisoned with endless lies, defamations and distortions, each of us needs to say to those in our lives, "They are talking about me and I need you to take a stand for me."

Third, we must demand that politicians - that we have supported for so long and from whom we have received so little - also stand up for us. No deals. Democrats, in particular, need to be told quite clearly, "If you let us down now, at this critical time, that's it. No deals. No excuses."

And finally, every national LGBT organization must set aside its own turf issues, rivalries and addiction to media coverage and dedicate itself and its resources to a collective campaign to turn back the bigots.

Folks, this is the big one. Together, we can win.

Matt Foreman is the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.