|
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 masses 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.
|