Solmonese Responds to Calls He Resign

I find the accusations of Joe not attending to be interesting. I was there with him and he was in the crowd. He did not address the people but he was marching right besode the rest of us as well as his partner.

I think there is room in our community for top down oragnization and lobbying and bottom up organizing and social change. That's why we have HRC and NGLTF. Haven't heardtoo much lately rom NGLTF (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) but they put on a conference every two years called Creating Change, working with grass roots organizers. I think HRC has an impact on the mainstream media and politicians because they are getting Barak Obama at their dinner. That gives credibility to our cause. And there should be a place for people to wear black tie and hear from the cultural elite. At the same time there is the power of the Equality March and the 200,000 people who had a life changing experience by coming together and hearing inspiring speakers. There's room for both approaches and both organizations. And we need change at the federal level and change at the state level. One organization can't do it all and shouldn't have to.

I believe "Solomonese Ignores the Call to Resign" would be a more accurate title. Now I'm not someone who believes the HRC has done nothing useful, but one thing I can't stand is being lied to. If he believes, as he says, that the core of the movement is the grassroots activism we witnessed during the march, why didn't he show up? And when he has the ear of the President, while the entire country looks on, why doesn't he convey any of the scepticism and disappointment that are widely felt in our community?

"United we stand divided we fall" Yes its passionate and we we all have different perspectives, but hold and lift each other up for f***'s sake!!!! As a gay man it disgusts me when those who know everything and hardly do anything bitch. Its so common everyone has somethign to say, do what they ask, lobby your local legislation like we do in our Mormon Community and support anyone who has a voice of concern to see our rights granted. Stick together, Christ if you cant love those fighting your battle, do you deserve rights?

Geez people quit your ignorant complaining. Obama hasn't even been in office for a year yet and its in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the depression. The President CAN'T create law!!!!!! he can only sign what Congress puts to him. Wake UP!!!!! And simple fact would state that if a dinner of 3000 people sells out at $250 a plate, then its not that expensive. How else do you decide who goes to something like that. Concerts are the same way, limited by how big the venue is and how much it costs. This is America, and Money decides everything... that's how its been an how it always will and should be. Joe has done a fantastic job in HRC and legislation is being worked on and passed (Matthew Shepard Act for instance now).. You can't just have everything you want immediately. Prop 8 was a failure, but it wasn't HRC's fault, its was all our faults. We were totally complacent during the election, only after now everyone is active on it.

Joe Solmonese is just the George W Bush of our LGBT community. The real interesting thing would be to find OUT who's pulling the strings at HRC and who is controlling the purse on our equality? http://voices.OUTTAKEonline.com

You know it's not that difficult or expensive to begin a nonprofit group or activist organization. There can be more then one gay rights groups, not that I endorse more needy nonprofits, but I am seeing and hearing so much anger and disappointment that perhaps instead of hurling insults and jabs that people with differing opinions should unite and create a movement. If you are really passionate stop waiting on someone else to lead the charge, become a leader yourself. Frankly, it is very difficult to override long standing organizational behavior--changing leadership rarely changes an organization's stripes--the board will simple seek out someone similar... They may say differently but we all have experiences where new leadership ushered in no change. Until main streets gays all over get mad as hell and DO something, we will get no where.

As Howard Zinn put it: We are citizens. We must not put ourselves in the position of looking at the world from their eyes [meaning the politicians] and say, "Well, we have to compromise, we have to do this for political reasons." We have to speak our minds. This is the position that the abolitionists were in before the Civil War, and people said, "Well, you have to look at it from Lincoln's point of view." Lincoln didn't believe that his first priority was abolishing slavery. But the anti-slavery movement did, and the abolitionists said, "We're not going to put ourselves in Lincoln's position. We are going to express our own position, and we are going to express it so powerfully that Lincoln will have to listen to us." And the anti-slavery movement grew large enough and powerful enough that Lincoln had to listen. That's how we got the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th and 14th and 15th Amendments.

I completely agree with Chuck Anziulewicz, our leadership is out of touch with our community, they push for useless laws instead to press for Complete DOMA repeal. They got to corrupted and too greedy.

Our leadership needs change! We have once in a life time chance to get our equality, and HRC is been to lenient to Obama’s administration. We all know Obama has a lot on his plate. At the same time my plate is empty. Not all gay guys are rich and influential. Why I have to have a 250 dollars to be able to participate on a dinner. We all should have access to it and right to be heard. Who knows what will happen 2010? Who know what will happen 2012, so time is now to work on our equality. I heard that some gay kid was kicked out from his home, and he went to HRC fancy building to ask for help and they turned him down. That is a shame. Most of the people on HRC board are rich and influential. They do not feel ordinary gay guys pain. I am not jealous on someone’s success but they need to speak up and press Government for our rights.