Leave a Comment Sagesse
Movements don’t start and stop every two years
October 14, 2011
By Adam Bink
People ask what the Courage Campaign and its members do all the time. One of the things I tell them is “we work to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act,” and tell them of the milestones we’ve hit since legislation was introduced in March: a record number of Senators in support of repeal (30) and halfway to the total we need; a record number of House members onboard, too (128); public support for repeal at a record high (over 50%); a majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee prepared to vote aye on the Respect for Marriage Act; a President who formally endorsed the bill, despite a longstanding policy of the White House to never take a position on bills that haven’t passed at least one house of Congress; and now, as we found out today, the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to vote on amendments and the bill in November. Not to mention, several lawsuits in the courtroom (such as Windsor v. United States; Pedersen et al v. OPM) making significant progress, which support the legislative effort and vice versa.
Despite all this, I’m greeting with skepticism. “Don’t you know, Adam,” they tell me, “that it’ll never get through the House?” “So what, it won’t get anywhere this year or next year,” others scoff.
It’s a valid point. Why work on something that has no chance of going anywhere immediately?
I respond with this: it wasn’t like we all woke up on November 5th, 2008, and said to ourselves, “Wow, we may have a pro-repeal House, Senate and President coming in January. I guess we can go start repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell now!”
If we did that, then we would have wasted over a decade. That conversation started in 1993, after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” became official policy. And it took over 17 long years to end it. If you told me, “why bother spending your time trying to get rid of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?” It’ll never go anywhere!” every single year from 1995-2001, when anti-repeal Republicans controlled the House and Senate; or 2001-2009, when President Bush wasn’t going to support repeal, and we all sat on our hands for 17 years, then when we woke up on November 5th, 2008, public opinion would not have climbed to an astounding 77% in Massachusetts, which played a role in Sen. Brown finally caving and voted for repeal. We would not have had the critically important Joint Chiefs onboard, nor scores of members of Congress, nor editorials in newspapers across America in support of repeal…you get the point. We would have not been in a position to deliver the final knockout that we did in December 2010 (and barely, at the 11th hour, at that).
Movements aren’t built in two years, and they don’t start and stop every two years. Organizing doesn’t start and stop depending on who has the gavel in the House or who sits in the big chair in the Oval Office. It starts when there’s a problem. Today, servicemembers are still treated as second-class because of DOMA. So are legally married same-sex couples. So, there’s a problem. So, the organizing begins now. And so does the infrastructure to support it.
We produced the buttons you see at top right to hand out to create a “sea of red” when the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Respect for Marriage Act in July. Today, we’ve giving them away to folks who sign up as a monthly donor to fund our work to Dump DOMA. This is a long-term campaign and it needs a long-term, sustainable budget. Click here to become a monthly donor to support that work.
At Courage, we have to start each month with a number and say, okay, what can we do with this to repeal DOMA this month? Otherwise, funding goes up and down, and it takes time to raise money, and we will be stuck in the mud. We can’t run a campaign that way.
Consider all that we’ve accomplished in the last six months. We may not get to the finish line next year, but if we wake up within shouting distance of having enough votes come January 2013 (as we were back in January 2011 on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”), then we need to be in a position to deliver the final blow. That means we can’t waste the next year and some-odd months telling ourselves, “why bother, it’ll never go anywhere.”
But even if you can’t contribute, don’t let anyone tell you your work is a waste of time. This isn’t a post about raising money so much as it is about making a point. Success is not measured by what we can do now, but by progress we’ve made to achieve a goal. Movements don’t stop and start every two years, and we don’t have any time to waste. We need to build the same kind of movement to repeal DOMA as the one that repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and we need to start it now.
Filed under: DOMA Repeal
37 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
AnonyGrl | October 14, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Well said Adam!!
"Success is not measured by what we can do now, but by progress we’ve made to achieve a goal."
2.
Alan_Eckert | October 14, 2011 at 12:31 pm
∞
3.
Ann S. | October 14, 2011 at 12:40 pm
§
4.
Adam Bink | October 14, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Thanks.
5.
jpmassar | October 14, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Great essay!
6.
Sagesse | October 14, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Poll Shows Little Support For Repealing Same-Sex Marriage
Read more: http://www.wmur.com/politics/29476349/detail.html…
7.
Sagesse | October 14, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Outserve conference in Las Vegas
Gay military personnel ready for 1st convention
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM…
8.
Sagesse | October 14, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Insightful.
Catholic Bishops Endanger Church Tax Exempt Status
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-somerville/…
9.
Sagesse | October 14, 2011 at 7:19 pm
From the Value Voters Summit
Maggie Gallagher: Gay Marriage War Can Never Be Over
http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=9786&…
10.
Sagesse | October 14, 2011 at 8:15 pm
This is becoming high profile. A good thing.
End of the Ex-Gay Movement?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/13/…
11.
Elizabeth_Oakes | October 14, 2011 at 10:38 pm
I liked the "Love is an Orientation" t-shirt.
12.
loaferguy | October 15, 2011 at 7:20 am
Highest-ranking US Catholic official charged in church's long-running sex abuse scandal
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44907461/ns/us_news-c…
13.
Ronnie | October 15, 2011 at 7:47 am
Subscribing & sharing…….
Go-Go To Cool Places For Weddings: http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/10/go-go-to-coo…
Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go's wants to officiate at your wedding. Photo of her officiating the marriage of two women in Central Park this week, her Ad (which is most excellent), & a link to her website.
A match for the ages: Syracuse men to marry today after 52-year relationship: http://blog.syracuse.com/cny/2011/10/a_match_for_…
"Ernst Schuh (left), 89, and Prof. Frederick Marvin, 91, both of Syracuse, will be married today in City Hall by Mayor Stephanie Miner under New York's new same-sex marriage law. The two have been together since 1959."
"They two men found each other in the Abbey of St. Florian, an Austrian monastery. They both were there to see the grave of composer Anton Bruckner. Marvin was traveling across Europe, playing concerts. Schuh, who survived the battle of Stalingrad in World War II, was an opera critic in Vienna."
(me) Congratulations to the happy couple. Their story is amazing. It might make for an interesting movie.
Op-ed: A Model Environment for the Young and Gay
More than 500 young people will gather this weekend for Models of Pride, the world’s largest free conference for LGBT youth. The event’s director reflects on why safe havens like these are so important.: http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Commentary/Oped_…
(me) Extremely awesome op-ed…..
"The Cast of Pretty Little Liars and & more amplify their voice against anti-LGBT bullying"….. <3…Ronnie:
[youtube F_eZKQGmiAo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_eZKQGmiAo youtube]
14.
Sagesse | October 15, 2011 at 8:12 am
Chipping away at the foundation of DOMA. This discriminates against the children of LGBT parents, because of who their parents are. That cannot be constitutional. Also discriminates against same-sex couples who are students.
For Children of Same-Sex Couples, a Student Aid Maze
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/your-money/for-…
15.
Sagesse | October 15, 2011 at 8:18 am
GLAD's Mary Bonauto assesses litigation of the Defense of Marriage Act
http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2011/10/14_mary-b…
16.
Sagesse | October 15, 2011 at 8:56 am
Romney… or Romney today… stay tuned.
Romney: States Should Be Permitted To Legalize Same-Sex Adoptions
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/10/14/344328/r…
17.
Ronnie | October 15, 2011 at 8:57 am
Today's 2011 LGBT History Month Icon…… <3…Ronnie:
"I don't think I'm a hero—the heroes are people who spend their entire lives trying to help others." ~ Daniel Hernandez Jr., a University of Arizona student & congressional Intern who garnered national recognition when he helped save the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords last January when Congresswoman Giffords & 18other people were shot in Arizona. Using his emergency medical training, he kept Giffords alive until the paramedics arrived. “It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots, but people needed help.” Read more about him here: http://www.lgbthistorymonth.com/daniel-hernandez-…
[youtube wsIElaVVCSg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsIElaVVCSg youtube]
18.
Sagesse | October 15, 2011 at 9:01 am
The Liberty Counsel wants you to support DOMA
Sign our Statement of Support upholding the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)!
http://www.libertyaction.org/339/petition.asp?Ref…
19.
Elizabeth_Oakes | October 15, 2011 at 9:05 am
Yeah, and I want them to uphold liberty but fat chance of that.
20.
Sagesse | October 15, 2011 at 9:17 am
All the debunking you could every want on Gary Lawrence's latest skewed poll
Gay Marriage Poll Touted by Mormons Seems Dubious
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-peron/gay-mar…
21.
Seth from Maryland | October 15, 2011 at 11:51 am
just a little update, there might be a chance that next week my home of Maryland could become the 7th with marriage equality in a special session , it seems really postive , and seems like a similar battle that happen in New York is going to happen next week in Maryland
22.
Ronnie | October 15, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Religious persecution… I mean "liberty"… I applaud this Equality & Freedom supporting Pastor… I give the eye of shame to his church…. [-X
Church Pastor Deemed Unfit, Fired from Church for Posting Article About 'DADT' Repeal on His Facebook Page: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/10/church-pastor-de...
"What resulted over the next six days was not fun. The chair of the elder board called for an emergency board meeting to deal with me. I was summoned to the board meeting, where I was forced to give my stance on homosexuality (even though the church has no official stance on the matter, and has never before talked about the issue). And even though I reminded them that we all agree on our church’s statement of faith, ultimately, when they learned that I don’t view homosexuality as a sin, and that I would be in favor of two gay people being allowed to get married, they came to the conclusion that I was unfit to be a pastor at [Name of Church]. And within a week of posting the article on FB page, I was fired from a church I’d served faithfully and helped to build for five years."
<3…Ronnie
23.
Ann S. | October 15, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Go, Maryland!
24.
Str8Grandmother | October 15, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Really? This is BIG News! That would be GREAT! Do you have a link to more information?
25.
loaferguy | October 15, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Leave it to NOM to keep things classy.
http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=9802&…
View the ad here:
http://letthepeoplevote.com/img/300x250_dancers-l…
26.
DaveP | October 15, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Indeed! This sounds like it warrants a front page article (or a few) here at P8TT. Bring on the SSM news!
27.
Seth from Maryland | October 15, 2011 at 4:21 pm
there really are no links , its just that the special session is coming this week, , and supporters are turning up the heat to bring it to the floor, so it could be , and all this has to do is pass the house (the senate already passed it this year) im not saying it will but it could come up ,so just keep a eye on it
28.
Adam Bink | October 15, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Thanks, JP.
29.
Adam Bink | October 15, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Arisha and Anthony are there, as well. We're sponsoring this year and proud of it.
30.
Adam Bink | October 15, 2011 at 5:16 pm
As always, happy to have one. Instructions at the top right of this blog.
31.
_BK_ | October 15, 2011 at 11:32 pm
LOL
32.
Straght4Equality | October 17, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I read much of the poll and, as an atheist, I would not have been able to answer many of the questions. The questions assume that God exists.
33.
Jenny | October 17, 2011 at 3:22 pm
I wrote a letter to one of my Senator's, Rob Portman, this weekend about supporting Respect for Marriage Act and ENDA and got a reply back today which described to me what DOMA is (thanks I already new that, thus I want to repeal it) and saying "I value your differing opinion" blah blah blah. Not one sentence on why he wants to continue DOMA. I found that very irritating. This was my first time writing to Sen Portman, but I've never had a Senator, Republican or Democrat, just not explain to me why they differed. I can only conclude the reason to be because there is no reason to support DOMA. I will continue to think that until he sends me something saying otherwise…
34.
bbock | October 18, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Imagine if Women's suffrage were held to the expectation that it would happen in the next year or two. Or the abolition of slavery. Both of these were worked on for decades. Culture shifts are usually not instantaneous or easy. Every little bit helps.
It also works this way with celebrities coming out. They don't because they don't see what difference it makes. But it does make a big difference because people talk about it. And that changes the culture. I talk about my marriage to my Facebook friends and family because to a lot of people it was a foreign idea. But when people you like or know are gay and getting married, it makes it a mainstream idea. Remember all the press gay couples and lesbian couples got when they adopted children? They were odd, exotic. Now it's pretty much a given. Not quite. We still have work to do on that. But it's a lot less likely to take anyone by surprise.
35. Prop 8 Trial Tracker &raq&hellip | October 27, 2011 at 11:13 am
[...] this month, I wrote a longer piece on why building a movement for DOMA repeal, starting now, is so important. It essentially boils [...]
36. Prop 8 Trial Tracker &raq&hellip | November 3, 2011 at 8:14 am
[...] not be dismissed as a non-starter simply because we are short on the votes in the full Senate. As I wrote in this essay, we have a long way to go and every moment builds a majority for DOMA [...]
37. Prop 8 Trial Tracker &raq&hellip | November 10, 2011 at 7:07 am
[...] to that in an op-ed published in The Advocate today — an essay that was actually based on a post he wrote here at Prop8TrialTracker.com. This stuff does matter. Today we’re going to generate a lot of news, change some hearts and [...]
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