VIDEO: "Where's Our Progressive Allies? We Were There For You."

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VIDEO: NOM's Maggie Gallagher Rubs In Our Defeat In Maine, But Sadly, She's Correct

I'd rather suffer severe rope burn than listen to Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage, but sometimes the fight for equal rights demands we listen to our opposition to better counter them.

Only if I had a spoonful of sugar handy . . .



The hardest part about what Maggie says is that a chunk of it is true. We had a big leading advantage in Maine and we lost it.

So what are we doing wrong?

As I have said before, Equality Maine has done amazing work in the state, building a strong grassroots infrastructure while doing the everyday task of educating residents on LGBT issues.

On top of that, the NO on 1 campaign did learn from the defeat in California and applied most but not all the lessons learned expediently.

We still lost. And hearing Maggie point out these facts is equivalent to sticking ice picks in my ears.

It's a sad fact we need to face: our messaging is not working.

Terry Leftgoff, who formerly served as the highest ranking openly gay officer of the California Democratic Party and oversaw numerous campaign efforts, wrote in an email (shared with permission by Rex Wockner) about our messaging from the NO on 1 campaign:

"I believe it is clear: we must radically reinvent our messaging, tactics and strategy...

"Most importantly, there was no effective response to predictable lies about children and schools, the identical lies made a year earlier during Prop 8.

"The response both times was to validate the implied homophobia by denying/agreeing that we don't teach about marriage or gays in school: 'Oh no, we should never talk about those gays because they're bad.' This validates and surrenders an emotionally charged subtext with an specious intellectual response; taken in isolation, it is a loser. Rather we need to develop strong proactive and affirmative messages that completely redirect the debate and reach higher to universal American principles and human respect. And we need to hit early and hit hard."

I have to agree with what Terry says and I have been saying so for some time. Again, this is not a criticism of the amazing, hardworking people behind the NO on 1 campaign, but an evaluation of us as a whole, the LGBT population and allies, as we struggle to define the message that we know innately - that we deserve equal rights - and translate it to the masses so that they will be motivated to vote with us.

It's no easy task. Otherwise, we wouldn't have lost 31 states. But where do we begin?

"There are a number of ways to accomplish this," Terry believes. "One way is to effectively portray the real effect denigration and rejection has on us and our children. It is about gut empathy. Many voters can get that and it is completely missing from our arsenal."

Just as the Yes on 1 campaign showed children acting sad for the cameras while at school, "suffering" from "homosexual marriage being forced upon them," we need to show our very real families really suffering from being treated unequally and forced to live with state sanctioned discrimination.

I believe New Jersey takes a big step in the right direction with their new marriage ads. This ad is so powerful, so raw, it should have been our strategy from day one.



(View the other ad)

The direction this ad takes can also be applied to countering the opposition's school argument about how LGBT students and children of LGBT families suffer at schools simply because of who they are.

We have lost in 31 states. But you can view that from a different angle. The ball is in our court in 31 states. We can now choose when to go back to the ballot. This time we won't be on the defense, forced to forge a campaign with little time. We'll be on the offense. We can now learn from our 31 defeats and turn them into victories. It takes time, diligence, sweat and tears - it will be scary, but we can do it. The power is on our side now.

We must use this power wisely.

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EVENT: Learn about messaging from some of our top expert. Vote For Equality is hosting, "Why Messaging Matters." Limited seating. First come first serve. Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7pm.

I highly recommend this. It will dissect our campaign ads and the opposition's and evaluate what worked and what didn't. Arm yourself with this knowledge. It's so important moving forward a this crossroad in our movement.

Dan Savage: "President Obama is a fierce advocate of gay rights the same way I'm a ladies' man. He isn't, and I'm not."

This is a few days old but definitely worth posting.



Savage refers to an email from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent out to all supporters directly before elections, urging them to get involved in a number of issues, but failed to mention any of the LGBT ballot initiatives attempting to take away rights.

Even more infuriating, they sent an email to some Mainers asking them to go to New Jersey to help the Democratic Gov. John Corzine win re-election. He did not. And the DNC did not ask them to vote No on Question 1 nor volunteer for the NO campaign.

America Blog has been covering the issue extensively, even having it out with the DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias. It's an interesting development during a time when the LGBT population is growing more and more disillusioned with President Obama.

Since it's appearing that the DNC did in fact urge its supporters to act but left the gays out in the cold and that President Obama is continuing to avoid specifically naming our issues to avoid the fray, the passage of Question 1 in Maine is only going to deepen this divide.

LGBT History Is Made With Washington Voters Approving Referendum 71

UPDATE: Washington's Secretary of State blog says Referendum 71 goes into effect 12-3-09, essentially calling a victory.

Washington state voters have ushered in a new moment in LGBT history by approving the state's new "everything but marriage" domestic partnership law.

With 69% of the expected vote counted Thursday, Referendum 71 lead 52% to 48%, roughly the numbers of the votes in Maine, but there, residents voted against marriage equality. This is great news for LGBT rights after that crushing blow.

"This moment in history is simply unprecedented," says Joe Mirabella on Seattle PI. Joe worked tirelessly with many bloggers, including Lurleen at Pam's House Blend, as part of the netroots team for the Approve Referendum 71 campaign.

"Referendum 71 was only the 6th referendum in Washington history to ever be approved by Washington voters. It is far easier to reject a referendum than approve one. In only 6 weeks we changed the conversation from the decline to sign campaign, to one of approve," Joe continued. "We faced an off year election, when older more conservative voters have a far better voting record. An LGBT referendum has never been approved by voters anywhere in the United States, that is until November 3 when fair minded voters from throughout the state said, "yes we want equality for all Washington families."

National gay-rights groups concur, saying the passage of Referendum 71 marks the first time a state's voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box.

"This victory promotes fairness, supports families, and is good for Washington state and the country. This victory sends the message that no family should be left vulnerable and without basic protections because of someone else's prejudices," said Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

"This is a wonderful victory for all those who value fairness and equality," said Josh Friedes, Approve Referendum 71 campaign manager. "Washingtonians have defended fairness and taken a strong stand for all families. We would not be celebrating this victory if it were not for Washingtonians' commitment to civil rights, our amazing campaign staff, our volunteers, our community and allies, and the support of organizations like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The Task Force spent time with us on the ground to train our campaign field team and contributed financially to help us ensure this victory."

Lurleen remarked on the voter map posted to the left, pointing out how much has changed in Washington in such a short amount of time.

"The last time Washington voters had the opportunity to ratify a pro-equality law at the polls was in 1997. Initiative to the People 677 proposed an employment non-discrimination law," Lurleen said. "The ballot title read Shall discrimination based on sexual orientation be prohibited in employment, employment agency, and union membership practices, without requiring employee partner benefits or preferential treatment?

"The measure was rejected 59.7% to 40.3%," she continues. "Contrary to the current image of the Puget Sound area of Washington as progressive, not one single county - not even Seattle's home of King County - voted to approve I-677. Contrast that with the current election where the electorate as a whole approved R-71 and majorities in 10 of Washington's 39 counties have approved R-71. But the truly stunning statistic is that the rate of ballot measure approval increased between 1997 and 2009 in all but one county."

This should make anti-LGBT forces quake in their boots. After their victory in Maine, they have continually declared that the tide is in fact not turning against them but in fact moving with them. Sounds like they spoke a little too soon.

THANK YOU, WASHINGTON! YOUR SUPPORT WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY!

Jon Stewart Ridicules Maine's Yes on 1 Campaign

I'm a little behind on a couple videos that I'll be posting today. But they're still very worth putting up. How could anyone pass up viewing Jon Stewart diss the homophobes?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Can't Get Queer From Here
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Californians Rebel Against 2010 Marriage Vote

Despite a slight 51% majority of Californians supporting marriage equality while 43% oppose, 60% of them do not want to revisit the issue in 2010 says the Los Angeles Times. Just last year 52% passed Prop 8 while 48% opposed it.

The findings come from a new Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences poll of 1,500 registered voters who were interviewed from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3. It was conducted by two nationally prominent polling firms, the Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies.

Views on same-sex marriage were sharply polarized based on political party, with 66% of Democrats thinking it should be legal and 71% of Republicans in opposition. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59%-34%.

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The survey showed that same-sex marriage continues to reverberate differently along race and generational lines. Just over half of whites backed it, while just under half of African Americans and Latinos did.

All three groups, however, opposed having to vote on it in 2010. (Asians were questioned by the poll and included in the overall sample, but their numbers were statistically too small to isolate.) Young voters continued to be far more supportive of gay marriage rights than their elders.

Among those ages 18-29, 71% said they supported same-sex marriage; among those 65 and older, only 37% favored it. Younger voters were also one of the few groups who backed putting it on the 2010 ballot, which will be dominated by the races for governor and U.S. Senate.

This could raise some red flags for groups like Love Honor Cherish and Equality Network who among others are leading the charge to restore marriage equality to California in 2010 and are actively involved in the statewide organizing group Restore Equality 2010. (They were also the lead organizers behind Wednesday's march in remembrance of Prop 8's passage.)

This Sunday, November 8, they will be holding a town hall meeting to discuss the signature gathering campaign to get language on the 2010 ballot to undo Prop 8.

The Facebook Event Page states:

For activists in: Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Chinatown, Culver City, Fairfax, Hollywood, Koreatown, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Mid-Wilshire, Pacific Palisades, Playa Vista, Santa Monica, Silverlake, Venice Beach, Westwood, West Hollywood, and West L.A.

√ Learn about Restore Equality 2010 and the movement to repeal Proposition 8

√ Help qualify our marriage equality initiative for the ballot by signing up as a volunteer
or Hub Coordinator

√ Get training on how to properly collect signatures

√ Meet and strategize with fellow activists

EVENT: LAvender Los Angeles Exhibit Reveals the City of Angels' Rich Pre-Stonewall LGBT History

In 1958, eleven years before Stonewall, gay men and drag queens at Cooper’s Do-nut shop in Downtown LA, rioted against abusive police. They threw donuts and took over the street.

Los Angeles has a rich history of LGBT activism and culture, which is often overlooked by those who focus on New York and San Francisco. LAvender Los Angeles aims to change that misperception by telling the story of LA’s LGBT community and the birth of the modern LGBT movement which began in Los Angeles in 1950.

LAvender Los Angeles is a two week exhibit that will run from November 8 - 20 at 114 W. 5th Street near Main Street (MAP), with a fundraising preview on November 7th at 7:00.

In addition to the exhibit itself, LAvender Los Angeles will present several discussions and special events, including discussions on LAPD relations, the Gay Press, LGBT Political Power, and a weekend walking tour. This history exhibit focuses on the history before the Stonewall Riots in NYC in 1969, and highlights how efforts here in Los Angeles led to LGBT empowerment across America.

Roots of Equality (RoE) is producing LAvender Los Angeles after noticing a lack of connection to our past in the post-Prop. 8 generation.

“We are responsible for passing on our history and our culture.” said RoE co-founder Teresa Wang. “This is not something we’re going to learn from our parents and relatives.”

As Los Angeles takes the lead in this most recent wave of the LGBT rights movement, this generation’s leaders can look to our own city’s past. “Los Angeles has just as much importance if not more than any other city in this country’s LGBT history,” explained RoE co-founder Tom De Simone, “we aim to show this city’s LGBT citizens that they have a rich history to be proud of.”

For more information, visit the Roots of Equality website.