Fighting to Fight: Questioning the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Battle. Editors' Note: Guest blogger Gabrielle Korn is a writer, activist, and artist. She is the Editorial Assistant of On The Issues Magazine, as well as a coordinator of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and an organizer of the New York City Dyke March. She lives in Queens. On September 20, 2011, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- the law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military -- will officially be repealed. Created by President Clinton in 1993 as a compromise between the existing ban on homosexuals in the military and his campaign promises to allow anyone to serve, regardless of sexual identity, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," or simply DADT, had been seen by gay rights activists and allies as forcing gays and lesbians in the military back into the closet. And permission to serve openly in the military during wars that are increasingly opposed by Americans.
In this light, gay rights appear to be granted when they fulfill a larger purpose for the government. Gay Rights Are Not Queer Liberation. Katrina’s Team Pick: I came out as bisexual when I was 16. And although I had a girlfriend who I had very serious 16-year-old feelings about, my coming out always came with a qualifier. “I’m bi – I love my girlfriend, but eventually, I want to be with a man. I want to marry a man and have a house and have children and put them in that house.” When I was 18, I realized I was gay, and suddenly not only was the thought that I wanted to be with a man untrue, the idea that I could ever be married seemed completely impossible. This was in 2008. And in some ways, I was right. Phyllis Siegel and Connie Kopelov, New York City’s first legally married same-sex couple Last month, the New Yorker posited marriage equality as a “historical inevitability.” But legal rights are not the same as human rights, just like gay rights are not the same as queer liberation.
Queer Insurrection (Dear HRC / liberal gay agenda / Courage Campaign:) Dan Choi: "Tell HRC To Abandon White Privilege" Dan Choi and I got really angry yesterday and decided to make some noise about it. This week, on the 20th, Congress will be holding hearings to get testimony on the possible repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. While this is a great occasion and the beginning of the process to bring marriage equality to every LGBT American, Dan noted on his Twitter that all the folks providing testimony (to include Joe Solmonese) are uniformly white.
We felt that the exclusion of gay people of color and binational couples was an outrage, and we feel that the fact that HRC's leadership is racially homogeneous (rich white gay men) tends to promote that image and give white members of our community an advantage. The fact that binational couples (who are hugely impacted by the lack of marriage equality in our country) are not present in testimony is insane. Instead, he's going to join Maggie Gallagher in his photo op. Misandry Mermaid, anarcho-queer: While the head honchos at the HRC... HRC’s International Expansion Funded By The Worst Humans. It’s been an interesting year for the HRC. With the repeal of DOMA and the advances for marriage equality in many places in the US, their longtime cause of marriage equality has seen unprecedented success. The masses of people who changed their Facebook and Twitter photos to a red equals sign during the wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling was a good indicator that the HRC has become visible and gained traction with the mainstream, including people who had never even heard of them six months before.
But the HRC’s visibility has been unwelcome for many members of the community it claims to advocate for. There is a long and contentious history between HRC and the trans* community; HRC was the last civil rights organization to endorse a gender-identity-inclusive ENDA back in 2004, and ultimately didn’t maintain their endorsement of it.
HRC has also been criticized by many for, put simply, becoming the face of assimilation politics. A strong advocate for LGBT equality, Mr. And: paul singer. HRC and the vulture fund: Making Third World poverty pay for LGBT rights. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest US gay organization, is going international. It’s just been given at least $3 million to spread the word of marriage equality to benighted countries that treat gays badly. Unfortunately, there’s a catch. Its chief partner and donor in this project wants the people in those countries, LGBT folk included, to starve – their economies wrecked, their incomes shipped abroad, their resources squeezed and stolen to pay off odious debt.
HRC is receiving its money for gay rights in the Third World from the man who “virtually invented vulture funds”: a form of speculation that’s one of the worst contributors to Third World poverty ever. But if you’re poor and getting poorer, look on the bright side (as long as river blindness hasn’t got you, that is). You can still have a nice white wedding; and you’ll save on the food bill if your nation has no food. HRC is understandably happy about the sunny prospects opening up. Curious how no one asks this. Peru. The problem with the HRC logo on your profile | The Moonbat. At one of the rallies supporting same-sex marriage outside the US Supreme Court last week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) asked Jerssay Arredondo from the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Program (QUIP) to speak. Prior to getting onto the stage however, HRC revised Arredondo’s speech, and asked him not to mention that he was an ‘undocumented immigrant’.
As Arredondo said, HRC effectively asked him to ‘go back into the closet’. Further reports from the rally stated that HRC asked other people in the audience not to wave trans* flags because ‘marriage equality is not a trans*’ issue. As HRC logos adorn the Facebook and Twitter profiles of thousands around the world in support for same-sex marriage, these instances open up a large question about the role of HRC, the largest LGBTIQ organisation in the United States, in the campaign.
Whilst the logo has been used to support same-sex marriage, there is an open question as to what else it is supporting. Let’s start with the basics. Like this: Human Rights Campaign Fails to Advocate For Minorities. Marriage equality is finally being addressed in the United States Supreme Court. DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) has a chance of being repealed with the United States vs.
Windsor case. DOMA states that a marriage is classified as between a man and a woman. Additionally, DOMA denies gay couples over 1,000 marriage benefits including tax benefits. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has taken a lead role in campaigning for marriage equality. They have had many marriage equality victories such as in Maine, Washington, and Maryland.
The HRC has also prevented constitutional bans that would have stopped further dialogue about marriage equality in Minnesota. Recently, during a rally in front of the White House, the HRC asked the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP), a project of United We Dream, to speak out against DOMA. View the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project’s video, HRC, don't push us back into the closet! Maribel Hermosillo. Why The Transgender Community Hates HRC. Why does the transgender community hate HRC? It’s a question I get frequently asked in GLBT settings. Considering the recent GLBT family feud erupting over ENDA, it's an appropriate one to ask as well. Before I get started trying to shed light on it, I need to point out in the name of journalistic integrity that I was the Lobby Chair for the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) from 1999-2002.
The roots of the animosity start after Stonewall. In an effort to appear more 'mainstream' to the straight community, Jim Fouratt and friends bounced Sylvia Rivera and other transpeople out of New York’s GLF (Gay Liberation Front). In a pattern that persists to the present day, The GLF had protections for transpeople removed from a proposed 1971 New York GLBT rights anti-discrimination bill under the pretext that it wouldn’t pass with such 'extreme' language. Ironically the bill failed anyway and the New York City GLB-only rights bill wouldn't pass until 1986.