Why It Is Important Gay Marriage In DC Doesn’t Just Become Just Another Milestone
Posted: 9th Mar 2010 Author: Michelle Penny Topics: Gay Marriage
Last week saw gay couples in DC be able to apply for marriage licenses for the first time, and now today a real milestone has been reached – the first of these couple have now got married. Making DC the sixth state to allow gay marriage in the United States, many are believing the move to allow it in the nation’s capital is a turning point for marriage equality across the whole country, with Freedom to Marry, the organisation pushing for gay marriage nationwide, being one such group to hold that view.
Believing a steady growth in the number of states allowing gay marriage can only act to challenge and disprove those who believe it can bring harm, Evan Wolfson, the executive director of Freedom to Marry, in writing for the The Huffington Post also highlights the political impact that it will have because:
” The more states we win, the closer America comes to the climate that will enable a federal victory in Congress or the Supreme Court, bringing national resolution.”
Wolfson is correct, there is no doubt that is a moment in time to be cherished and remembered, however it is important it doesn’t become another pin in a map, another date on a calendar. We need to take the momentum that has been created by this, along with the publicity and news coverage that these first DC gay marriages are getting, and act to make this a point on a journey. A journey where we don’t stop talking about what happened in DC and move onto something else, but where we talk and explain to everyone what this will continue to mean for the LGBT community in DC, what it doesn’t mean for those who were so fearful of this change, and how replicating the same in other states will again do nothing but put one section of society in a more equal position, without negatively impacting on any other section.
And that doesn’t just mean talking to lawmakers, the way to really change the perception of people isn’t by bypassing them and making it that the only person they get their information from is a person they have no real connection to. It is all about talking to everyone. It’s about talking to your neighbour, who will then talk to her nieces and nephews, who will then talk about the issue with friends at school. It’s about talking to your parents who will talk to their friends who will then speak to their work colleagues..
If we are truly to succeed and make gay marriage legal across the US, gay marriage in DC can’t be seen as huge victory that sees us stake a rainbow flag and move onto the next challenge, it has to seen as another, albeit very important, step in a journey where it is not about the big victories but more about gathering people to walk with us and support us as we walk towards the much bigger goal of marriage equality for all across the country.
