Are Blacks Being left Out of the National Conversation on Gay Issues?

When Obama delivered his "gay agenda" speech to the well-fed, well-scrubbed mostly white crowd of gays and lesbians at the Human Rights Campaign's Annual Dinner on Saturday night, anyone outside of the LGBT community would have assumed by the applause that the entire "gay community" is in agreement that access to serve in the military, gay marriage, and hate crimes legislation are our primary issues. But in reality, HRC's political agenda is not what I want. It does not speak for me, nor for the lives of many other black, poor and working class LGBT people. Given the fact that we're in a long recession where hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in almost every month of 2009, and national unemployment numbers are at nearly 10 percent, why are we not talking about the issues that most people are concerned about - health care and the economy - and their impact on the LGBT community? The truth is, for many people at that dinner who could afford the cheapest ticket at $250 a plate, jobs and wages are of little concern. It's not as though there is a lack of evidence that supports the idea that LGBT folks are impacted by poverty. A report on lesbian and gay poverty in the US by the Williams Institute this spring showed that lesbian and gay couples were as likely to be poor as straight couples, mostly due to the impact of race and gender. Full Story from The Grio: http://www.thegrio.com/2009/10/when-obama-delivered-his-gay.php

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Washington, DC's Racial Divide on Gay Marriage

As the D.C. government prepares to legalize same-sex marriage, some supporters fret that the issue could divide the city along racial lines. It probably won't happen, because gay rights activists in the District have built a potent, biracial political bloc that seems set to drive the bill to passage easily in coming months. The real threat to same-sex marriage here will be conservatives in Congress trying to meddle in what should be a matter for the District to decide on its own. Nevertheless, it's an intriguing fact, acknowledged by both sides, that blacks in the District overall oppose same-sex marriage while whites support it. Why is that so? And should African Americans, who battled so long for civil rights for themselves, be natural allies of gay people seeking such rights today? The answers cast light on the intersection of racial , gender and class politics in the city. The issue is sure to attract lots of attention in our region and beyond. The District is poised to become the first jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line to allow same-sex marriage. Approval would accelerate efforts to legalize it in Maryland as well. Full Story from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/19/AR2009091902376.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com with "subscribe blog" as the subject. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.