Pride 2012

Tags

LGBT Equality, Mary Griggs, Pride, Rant

(c) by Mary Griggs

It is June and another Pride month is upon us. There are many in our community who don’t think we need this celebration. I’ve heard them argue that we’ve not only assimilated into the majority culture but that our insistence on this annual ritual of parades and festivals actually pulls our movement backward when those videos of drag performers, ass-less chaps and Dykes on Bikes are shown in middle America.

I think they couldn’t be more wrong.

I see Pride as showing our power. Being seen matters especially in the political realm where having a visible presence is a prerequisite for gaining any kind of power.

Slipping out of our minority status for even a day can be incredibly empowering. I just returned from a literary conference put on by the Golden Crown Literary Society – a group that supports and promotes lesbian literature. We took over part of a hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it was wonderful to no longer be merely ten percent (or less) of the population. From the conference rooms to the elevators, from the pool to the bar, we were the majority. Women who had been marginalized for reading and writing about lesbian lives found welcome in our numbers and it was good.

And we can all experience such moments. For the short time of the Pride, we are no longer in the margins or hiding in the shadows or living in our closets. We are out in the streets and claiming the public space as our own. It can be incredibly liberating.

Suddenly, surrounded by the people of our tribe, no one can deny we exist. We don’t have to look to the few out celebrities for our role models. Our neighbors, our coworkers, the other parents at our kids school, our classmates are all out there with us. Seeing so many of my LGBTQH* brothers and sisters, walking around and being happy fills my heart with gladness and recharges my will to fight for those other 364 days when I don’t.

So, I hope I will see you out there – marching and carrying on – because we are many and we are beautiful!

*LGBTQH – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, HIV affected

HRC Louisiana Equality Award 2012

Tags

Events, LGBT Equality, Louisiana, Mary Griggs

I totally forgot to post the pictures and my speech here of me receiving the HRC Louisiana 2012 Equality Award.

Here is my speech:

Good evening

It is a privilege beyond belief for me to receive the 2012 Equality Award. As all of you who are fighting for equality know, this isn’t work we do alone. I am fortunate to have been shoulder to shoulder with some amazing individuals, organizations and allies. I’m very pleased to see so many of you in this room tonight.

I’d like to take a moment to thank a few folks in particular.

None of my work could be possible without the support of my family and most especially my mom. I am very fortunate to have a mother who is still living and inspiring me every single day – a mom who raised me with the values of compassion, courage and persistence. I turn to her for advice, for strength, for laughter and for the excellent cornbread recipe she taught me. I’m grateful to have her as my champion and my cheerleader and very happy that she is with me here tonight. Hi, Mom!

I want to thank the LGBT Community Center Board for believing in me and in their willingness to do the work necessary to keep the doors open. Since 1992, the LGBT Community Center has been promoting the vitality and well being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community in the Greater New Orleans area. With the continued support from folks like you, we will go for another twenty years.

I want to thank the Forum For Equality, for giving me a platform for my activism. Despite opposition from far too many of our elected officials and fellow Louisianans, the staff and Board members of the Forum continue to educate, advocate, and fight for equality. Sometimes, like during this legislative session, it may seem like the world is changing too slowly. But, then, we have the President of the United States making an affirming statement about marriage equality. Some might think that his saying something doesn’t matter, especially in an election year. But it does matter! It matters because people in Louisiana, who might never have heard anything nice said about gays and lesbians, just heard a powerful, educated, successful man say something really loving and respectful about them. It matters because it shows scared and questioning young people that they are not crazy for feeling the way they feel, that they are not worthless, and that they are not alone. Frankly, that is what my work with the Forum For Equality is all about–helping the people of this state along in their evolution on the issues and toward the creation of a society where all people are treated fairly and equally under the law.

Finally, I want to recognize HRC Louisiana and the New Orleans Steering Committee, especially the women. You all have been incredibly welcoming and supportive since the very first women’s event I attended. Many of you are my role models but, even more importantly, you are my friends. I am honored to be recognized by you.

Thank you all so very much.

The evening was quite lovely, even though I made my Mom (who was my plus one) cry with the speech I gave. It was really nice to see so many folks in their finery and to chat with other activists.

The low point was the performance by Joan Rivers–I knew she was rude and mean but her routine included pulling her eyelids back and making fun of Chinese women, asking the ‘cripples’ to leave, and an extremely poor taste joke about how she wished she had a male child after learning how much money Michael Jackson was paying the boys who accused him of molestation. If I hadn’t been being honored, I would have walked out!

Army Stronger

Tags

DADT, DOMA, LGBT Equality, LGBT Servicemembers, Louisiana, Marriage Equality, Mary Griggs, Rant

(c) by Mary Griggs

A few days ago, a same sex union was performed by an Army chaplain at Fort Polk in Leesville, Louisiana. In response, Representative John Fleming (R-LA) made a statement decrying this religious ceremony as a ‘liberal social experiment.’

John Fleming couldn’t be more wrong to advocate for legislation to prevent military facilities from being used for same-sex marriages or marriage-like ceremonies.

No-one was forced to attend or participate in this private ceremony. Two people came together, before God and their friends and family to unite as one. Strong families help make a strong military but people like John Fleming want to force LGBT service members off base.

We say we support our troops and that means we need to support all our troops and their families equally. Coming together in celebration of the commitment of two loving partners will not negatively impact military readiness. It can only enhance a service members ability to perform their duty.

When Congress repealed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ it meant that our gay and lesbian service members could serve openly. Unfortunately, with the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, they are not able to serve equally. Because of DOMA, legally married gay and lesbian couples are denied more than 1,100 federal responsibilities and protections, including access to military insurance programs, Social Security survivors benefits, equal treatment under U.S. immigration laws, and the opportunity to take leave to care for a spouse.

On virtually every measure of health and well-being, married people are, on average, better-off than otherwise similar singles. Marriage works by fostering commitment, trust, fidelity and cooperation between the partners. The right of adults to enter into consensual marriage is enshrined in international human rights standards. We are asking our service members to give their all to defend our rights and it is wrong to refuse them this right.

Honor our patriots! Don’t let the John Fleming’s of the world create two classes of married service members within the military. Right now, there are those who receive support and benefits for their families and those who do not and that is unfair. Don’t compound discrimination by allowing religious extremists to pass judgement on who will have their marriages and unions celebrated and who will not.

Send an email to your Senator today asking them to oppose any measures to codify discrimination against LGBT service members and to demand the repeal of DOMA. Find your Senator by clicking this link: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm