|
SUPERIOR, WI – Adjacent to the city of
Superior’s Christmas tree lighting
ceremony on November 17, local LGBT rights activists rallied in Superior, WI against the proposed
attacks on gay marriage and civil unions – wrapping up two nights of
community events. Only yards
away from Superior’s extremely bigoted
mayor, Dave Ross, lighting the city Christmas tree, protesters
chanted “Hey, hey, Ho, ho!
Homophobia has got to go!”
Superior was one among many cities
around the country that held pro-gay marriage events the week of
November 17, the anniversary of the historic Massachusetts Supreme
Court ruling which recognized LGBT partnerships in the highest
court. A coalition of
activists in Superior and nearby Duluth, MN worked together to hold a
teach-in and a march and rally.
These events focused on the national and regional battles and
personal reactions to these attacks on equality for LBGT
citizens. November 2, all 11
of the states that had the issue on the ballot, voted against gay
marriage rights and 8 of those went even further to ban other kinds
of unions.
To understand where Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the nation stand
after these defeats, November 16 on the University of
Wisconsin–Superior campus, a teach-in on gay marriage was held with
leading state activist groups Action Wisconsin and Outfront Minnesota, local couples, and clergy.
Although the losses of November 2 were discussed frankly by the
panel, there was a clear emphasis on the positive.
“We have come a long way and we’re moving forward…although the
losses on Election Day were unfortunate, they in no way should be
seen as losing the war for LGBT equality,” Christopher Ott, Executive Director of Action Wisconsin, “…we
should focus on the all the states that do have marital rights or
domestic partnerships for LGBT couples. Only a few years ago there were
none. Now we have six.” Ott also
states that we should focus on Wisconsin’s history as a
progressive civil rights state.
Phil Duran, Legal and Policy Analyst for Outfront
Minnesota, interjected that cities
in the states that have passed bans on gay marriage have already
begun to pass ordinances opposing the statewide bans.
November 17, the protesters marched from the UW-Superior
campus to the grassy noel of the Superior Public Library concluding
the events with a rally.
Speakers included members of the Queer and Allied Student
Union of UW-Superior; UWS Student Senate President, Rob Schimke; faculty and staff from local universities;
and local LGBT activists. Bob Kosuth, MC of the march and rally, spoke eloquently
about how we can and will change this narrow definition of legal
marriage. We have before and
we will again. For example, he would have been unable to marry his
Asian partner had laws preventing interracial marriage not been
overturned. Angie Nicols and her partner Beth Olson were among the
couples who spoke up. As their
daughter hugged her, Angie summed up the message of the events by
saying that it is up to us to change things – not politicians.
As with any movement, there will be setbacks, but we are
gaining momentum – as evident by the success of Superior’s events. There were only a handful of
negative responses. The vast majority were positive. January we will find out if Wisconsin will vote on gay marriage. It could be on the ballot as soon
as April so it is vitally important to be ready. Considering that it
would be the only vote of its kind at that time, there would be great
help from national LGBT resources.
Locally, there are already plans for another rally in
mid-February to commemorate Freedom to Marry week, this time in Duluth. Activists will continue to march
and rally in support of these basic human rights.
These events were endorsed by the following groups: Action
Wisconsin, Outfront Minnesota, Rainbow Families
Wisconsin, Rainbow Families Minnesota, Freedom to
Marry, Chicago Anti-Bashing Network, Don’t Amend.com, Queer
and Allied Student Union of UWS, Queer Student Union of UMD, Open
Doors of CSS, Northland Alliance, Lake Superior Socialist Action,
Political Science Association of UWS, Hindsight of UWS, and Children
of Lesbians and Gays.
|