Setting the Agenda ... the Gay One

COMMENTARY: Prior to the election of Barack Obama, the gay rights agenda risked becoming nothing more than a wish list. But after nearly 30 years during which no major piece of gay rights legislation has been passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, it is time to make a a real push for true equality. Our time at the back of the bus must end. Now.

BY Lane Hudson

November 19 2008 1:00 AM ET

BARACK OBAMA BARNEY FRANK X100 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

We are the only
major power in the world that does not recognize these
tenets of basic equality. We are also the only one of these
nations to have elected a black man president. If we
can do that, we can surely provide for civil equality
for all of our citizens.

If this ask is
not reasonable, I challenge our advocacy organizations to
explain why. After hundreds of millions of dollars spent in
the last 30 years, there is little progress to show in
the arena of equal rights. Conversely, there are far
more barriers than existed 30 years ago.

It's time that we
have an agenda that represents the time in which we
live. I am hopeful that our community will embrace such an
agenda and demand it from those who enjoy the largess
of our financial support: politicians, organizations,
and businesses.

Only when we see
progress can we believe what we are told. Only when we
see full equality can we rest.