The following haas been clipped and posted from The Bilerico Project Report dated 16 September 2009.
Equality; being involved in LGBT politics means that I probably utter or hear this word a hundred or more times every day but, do I truly understand what it means? What are the implications it carries for my private as well as my public life?
I work for One Kalamazoo, a ballot question committee campaigning to affirm a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender inclusive Non-Discrimination Ordinance in Kalamazoo, MI. The ordinance was passed unanimously ...twice by the city commission and derailed...twice by a small group of opposition. It will go to a city-wide vote on November 3. I've been working for this ordinance for quite sometime now and I've observed closely as new faces joined in support.
Equality can mean many things to different people. In fact, it means many things to me, for instance; it means I should have the same civil rights as you. It means I don't get to judge you and you don't get to judge me. It means that how much money somebody makes doesn't give them the right to treat me as their lesser. Often, our opponents accuse us of demanding "special rights." Not true. "Gay agenda"? Maybe; if you consider fair and equal opportunity for everyone an agenda. Within the context of my politics, it means that others shouldn't be allowed to deprive me of the same rights and considerations under our common laws that are widely taken for granted. It's not right that my viability as a person can be called into question because I may not conform in some way to mainstream standards which are unthinkingly and unquestioningly agreed upon by a fictional majority. That is my understanding of the public position of the LGBT equality movement as well.
Continue reading "What is equality, really?"...
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