HRC Vandalized by Angry Gay Group

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN X390 / Advocate.com

Looks like Barack Obama isn’t the only entity some gay people are mad at this weekend.

As LGBT activists took to the streets to fight for their rights, the Human Rights Campaign’s Washington, D.C., headquarters was vandalized this weekend -- by a gay group angry with the HRC for not being "inclusive."

The group spray-painted the words “Quit leaving queers behind” next to the building’s front doors. The group, Queers Against Assimilation, later took credit for the vandalism on the website Lez Get Real.

The attack on the HRC coincided with this weekend’s huge gala dinner, at which the president promised real change for the gay community during his administration, including an end to "don’t ask, don’t tell."

But critics of the president and of the HRC say change isn’t coming fast enough, and that it should be the job of the HRC to put further pressure on him.

Read a manifesto the group left behind at HRC headquarters here .

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Reader Comments

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Name: Franz
Date posted: 10/13/2009 3:24:44 AM
Hometown: Seattle

Comment:
seeking not to be discriminated against is not assimilation and marriage rights are not about accepting homosexuality. Gays could give a fuck about what people accept, it's about job security and economic benefits. Equality is not assimilation.
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Name: Don
Date posted: 10/12/2009 5:31:36 PM
Hometown: Phoenix

Comment:
"Queers Against Assimilation?" What a joke! Beyond the immaturity of defacing property, their name is crazier than they are. What do you call marriage, equal rights, and equal priotection, if not assimilation? The act of assimilation is to become part of larger society. That's what most queers have been fighting for for decades. Christ, most gays ARE seeking assimilation. I hope these vandals are arrested and prosecuted. The HRC doesn't speak for me either. But God knows QAA certainly doesn't as well. When I have grievances I take them up with my legislator, I don't expect others to do it for me. Paying dues to an organization is NOT activism, nor is it having an effect on your legislators.
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Name: Ben
Date posted: 10/12/2009 5:01:53 PM
Hometown: NY

Comment:
I agree with nearly every word of this group's manifesto. They have expressed misgivings that many, many people in our community feel about the HRC and the general direction our movement has taken. It's true that cutting one another down won't take us very far, but when our so-called leading rights group appears only to be kissing the Democratic Party's ass, it's time to speak truth to power.
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Name: usnjake
Date posted: 10/12/2009 4:58:50 PM
Hometown: South Bend, IN

Comment:
Yikes! I've often said sometimes we are our own worst enemy! Too bad, really, as if we didn't have enough problems than to be worrying about getting blindsided by our own.
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Name: Rick
Date posted: 10/12/2009 4:21:38 PM
Hometown: Charlotte

Comment:
Paul said: They (HRC) are out of touch (spewing almost Republican-like comments) and they should be shut down. Stop sending your money to them." Paul, It's obvious who is actually out of touch. Because of this latest immature act of vandalism, I plan to make an extra donation to HRC this year.
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Name: Paul
Date posted: 10/12/2009 4:05:55 PM
Hometown: kansas City

Comment:
completely childish and boorish behavior. I have no respect for any group that destroys and defaces the property of others to make their point. They are acting like spoiled children. Join the conversation, you fools, this does nothing but turn people off. I'm disappointed in some of the actions of the HRC, but this action certainly doesn't make me sympathetic towards the vandals, or their message. It actually makes me want to join HRC and try to make my voice heard within the organization. Grow up and maybe people will take you seriously.
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Name: Stephen
Date posted: 10/12/2009 3:38:36 PM
Hometown: dayton, ohio

Comment:
How is HRC not acting in a way thats inclusive? If you are going to make claims, please support them! Who are they excluding? It seems like the argument is against HRC's strategy to achieve equality. They are being measured and pragmatic, and there is a strong argument for that approach. Regardless, if you disagree with their strategy, there is a way to voice that productively. Frustration and anger do not justify vandalism and destruction of property. There is absolutley no excuse for this type of behavior and it is counterproductive.
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Name: Stephen
Date posted: 10/12/2009 3:38:07 PM
Hometown: dayton, ohio

Comment:
How is HRC not acting in a way thats inclusive? If you are going to make claims, please support them! Who are they excluding? It seems like the argument is against HRC's strategy to achieve equality. They are being measured and pragmatic, and there is a strong argument for that approach. Regardless, if you disagree with their strategy, there is a way to voice that productively. Frustration and anger do not justify vandalism and destruction of property. There is absolutley no excuse for this type of behavior and it is counterproductive.
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Name: John Bowdle
Date posted: 10/12/2009 3:32:46 PM
Hometown: Tulsa, OK

Comment:
I am against vandalism of any type. As Joan Baez said years ago, violence on the left as opposd to violence on the right, is the difference between dog shit and cat shit. I gave up our membership in HRC when I read that Joe S, the head, mad a three-figure salary. I don't..
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Name: Sandy Rhodes
Date posted: 10/12/2009 3:30:31 PM
Hometown: Pebble Beach

Comment:
When HRC gives Coors a 100% rating - they stopped speaking for the LGBT Community. When they recently gave an "A+" rating to over 85% of AmLaw 200 lawfirms just because they had a domestic partners program - they stopped speaking for the LGBT Community. When the HRC started taking huge Corporate donations and started watering down their demands for equality and civil rights for the LBGT Community - they stopped speaking for the Community. I will echo what others have said: I disagree with the delivery - but I wholeheartedly agree with the message. THE HRC DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME.

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