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The movement to gain equal rights for gay men, lesbian, bisexuals, and transgender people in this country has slowed to a crawl. In part it’s been slowed by the effectiveness of our opponents in framing the issues to our disadvantage, but it’s also hampered by our own lack of vision in developing strategies relevant to current times.
Occasional progress is noted, and appreciated: a watered-down hate crimes bill in one state; the formation of a gay-straight alliance at a high school in another. But a reality check shows us that in “Middle America”—that hallowed spot of ground in Kansas that the media claims represents all of conservative America (or red-state America)—antigay measures have a much greater chance of passing in state legislatures and local councils than do their pro-equality counterparts. To see this, one need only look at the number of anti-marriage amendments being proposed and passed across the nation compared with the number of states recognizing marriage equality or civil unions.
Culturally GLBT themes can be winners. The eight-year run of Will & Grace, the buzz about GLBT-themed movies during the recent awards season, and the musical contributions of country music icons Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris all show that GLBT acceptance in the country is increasing. Despite what right-wing pundits are saying and CNN is reporting, even in Middle America, Brokeback Mountain was a success, having played to packed movie houses of gays and straights and heterosexual couples and gray-haired ladies.
As I write this Brokeback is still in play even here in Birmingham, Ala., after showing for several weeks. I am sure that the local theaters, in business to make money, would not hold this or any other movie over week after week if people were not continuing to go see it. Dolly Parton, a longtime vocal supporter of the GLBT community, performed at a sold-out concert here recently. The fact that a heart-wrenching love story involves two men or that a country music legend supports our community is OK in Middle America.
So what does it mean that cultural phenomena, with capitalist roots to say the least, can have a greater effect in promoting equality than political advocacy? For the leaders of GLBT advocacy groups it means they need to rethink their strategies.
It is time for a paradigm shift in the way the fight for equality is approached. For years these groups have concentrated their efforts in obtaining certain rights in progressive, blue states, where they say they have the best chance of getting legislation passed or victories in the courts. While every pro-equality bill that passes is appreciated, it is time to rethink that approach.
Prior to Lawrence v. Texas—the Supreme Court case that overturned the Texas sodomy law and thus made the remaining sodomy laws across the country invalid—this was a good strategy, because the antigay groups could always use the argument that same-sex activity was illegal to win court cases or defeat legislation. That being the case, it would have been useless, and a waste of valuable resources, to bring the fight for equal rights to the red states. But once same-sex relationships were declared legal, this no longer made sense.
Here in the South, in Birmingham, Ala., every year during the month of February we celebrate Black History Month, and every year I learn a little more about the events that shaped this city’s (and nation’s) history and the people who made it happen. One of them was Coretta Scott King, whom we recently lost—not only a great civil rights leader but a strong supporter of GLBT rights in the black community. Many in the African-American community see no similarity in the civil rights movement and the current gay rights movement. But Martin Luther King Jr. himself said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and his widow used this quote often in her fight for GLBT rights.
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