Resounding unity for marriage equality at standing-room-only convocation

Wednesday evening in the auditorium at the True Reformer Building saw a diverse, standing-room-only crowd in support of making the final sprint toward marriage equality in the District of Columbia. I did not do a count, but there may have been 300 people present.

The evening was ably facilitated by Nick McCoy. An opening prayer was given by Rev. Monique Ellison. A rousing speech was given by Rev. Eric Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who was frequently interrupted by applause as he stressed the importance of building broad coalitions, conveying the fact that marriage is a civil institution, and making the oppressor bear the burden of defending their oppression. Rev. Lee built his message around the five tenets of education, organization, mobilization, agitation, and transformation.

The stakes for our families were illustrated by a lesbian couple, Aisha Mills & Danielle Moodie, who plan to marry next year.

Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) announced that he and nine Council colleagues will introduce the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Act of 2009" on October 6, and distributed copies of the bill. He said how blessed D.C. is to have such a well-organized LGBT community in comparison to many other cities.

Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chair of the Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on the bill and mark it up before sending it to the full Council, discussed the years of work that led to the present moment, and stressed the importance of educating and winning over members of the public to avoid a show of public division that might provoke Congress to interfere. Councilmembers Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Michael Brown (I-At Large) were also present. All were enthusiastically received.

There was a question-and-answer period, after which Nick McCoy returned to lead the audience in a chant of "Our time is now!" Nick also described the contents of the action packs that had been distributed, including:

• a question-and-answer sheet on the bill from Catania
• a document from the D.C. Council titled "How a Bill Becomes Law"
• a sheet titled "How to Spend Your Three Minutes at Your Advisory Neighborhood Commission Meetings"
• a schedule of ANC meetings for October
• a pro-equality pledge card to send to councilmembers
• an action list titled "Four Ways to Make Marriage Equality a Reality in the District of Columbia"
• GLAA's newly revised flyer, "Marriage Equality: 10 Talking Points"

GLAA's flyer is available online at www.glaa.org. We will make copies of the other documents available online as electronic copies become available. (Watch the D.C. Our Time Is Now website for updates.)

Two choral selections were performed by the choir from Unity Fellowship Church. A final prayer was offered by Bishop Kwabena Rainey Cheeks.

The combination of unity and passion at the convocation was immensely encouraging to those of us who have been working on this issue. We have much work ahead of us, but our community is ready for this challenge. Thanks to all the organizers and participants, and all who will become involved in the crucial weeks ahead.

Update: Loose Lips reports.

Update 2: WaPo's D.C. Wire reports.

Comments

[MPetrelis]

Thanks for the great report, Rick. Wish I could have been there and participated. I am an old-fashioned sort of activist who believes we need new tech tools AND face to face meetings. I wonder if anyone from the host committee of the Oct 11 march on DC were there. Did anyone show up from the march and solicit participation for that event?

[Rick Rosendall]

Hey, Michael. If anyone from the National Equality March was there, they kept it a secret.