It’s unclear whether today’s Dan Choi handcuffing was the lieutenant acting alone, or in tandem with Robin McGehee and Kip Williams’ new group Get Equal, but something tells us we’re seeing a coordinated effort to shock activists and lawmakers alike: The just-formed Get Equal says its members have stormed the San Francisco and D.C. offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding she bring ENDA to a vote, and won’t leave until she does. Or she has them arrested.
While the ineffective Human Rights Campaign sits idly by and plays with celebrities, we’re witnessing a more renegade approach to securing equality going on this minute.
According to en email blast from Get Equality, members “won’t leave until Speaker Pelosi commits to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to the floor for a vote this month – or until they are arrested.” Sound familiar? It should. That’s just what Choi did in D.C. today with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, refusing to budge from the White House fence until forcibly taken away by the Secret Service.
It’s clear Choi is backing what Get Equal is doing; he tweeted support for the group three days ago. And Choi worked with McGeHee and Williams on the National Equality March, at which he spoke. Today, then, he turned an invitation from HRC to speak at its DADT rally after Kathy Griffin into an opportunity to pursue his own path. And while it may have had a script, it certainly wasn’t HRC’s.
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And now we’re hearing Paul Yandura — who was involved in the Dallas Principles and has been a vocal critic of the do-nothing Democratic National Committee, and organized in the “secret” activist meeting with Richard Socarides that McGehee attended — is bailing out McGeHee, Choi, and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo. (Update: Or not. We’re hearing they’re being held overnight and will appear before a judge tomorrow morning.)
This doesn’t seem like a happy coincidence. It appears to be a new legion of gay activists taking over while Joe Solmonese is pushed further into irrelevance.
Whether either of the moves proves effective — getting votes on DADT and ENDA — remains to be seen. If Obama and Pelosi “cave” to the demands, they’ll be seen as being at the mercy of a bunch of civilians, which isn’t a great message power brokers like to send. But if they don’t meet their demands? There will be more uproar. More disruptions. And, we can all agree, much less cash toward their political careers.
UPDATE: Almost certainly a coordinated effort on both coasts. The same publicist that sent out a release earlier about Choi sends out this one:
LGBTQ Activists Call for Action at Speaker Pelosi’s Doorstep
GetEQUAL storms Speaker’s San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices calling for leadership on Employment Non-Discrimination Act
SAN FRANCISCO – Activists for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights today simultaneously stormed the Washington, D.C. and San Francisco offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to demand that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) be brought to a vote on the House floor this month. The action was led by Robin McGehee and Kip Williams, co-founders of GetEQUAL, a new lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer activist community.
“We understand that Speaker Pelosi and the rest of Congress are in the midst of passing health care reform legislation,” said McGehee. “However, health care for many LGBTQ families is intimately connected to employment protections and we cannot wait a minute longer for those protections. We’ve already waited far too long.”
“We demand that Nancy Pelosi show the same passion and leadership on ENDA as she has on health care reform” added Williams. “At least with the passage of a health care bill, those who are unjustly fired because of her inaction on ENDA will have access to affordable health care. Failure to swiftly push ENDA through Congress after the health care vote, however, is not acceptable.”
ENDA legislation has been stuck in the House Committee on Education and Labor since last year. Contrary to what has been told to many LGBTQ allies in Congress, “The Hill” reported in December that Pelosi assured Democrats she would not bring any controversial bills to the floor for a vote this year.
“Nancy Pelosi seems more intent on getting Democrats re-elected to Congress this year and protecting her Speakership than protecting LGBTQ people from job discrimination,” said Shannon Cuttle from Detroit, Michigan. Cuttle was recently affected by a lack of employment discrimination protection and participated in today’s action in Washington, D.C. “I know firsthand how silence by our legislators affects my livelihood, as well as my dignity.”
In addition to concern that ENDA continues to be delayed, the LGBTQ community fears that gender protections currently contained in the legislation may be removed. Accordingly, activists seek a commitment from Pelosi that those protections will remain intact and only an all-inclusive ENDA will be pushed forward.
“A recent study on discrimination found that 97 percent of transgender people who responded had experienced some level of harassment and 26 percent had been fired simply for being transgender,” said David McElhatton, a transgender activist who participated in the San Francisco action today. “We thought we had an ally in Nancy Pelosi but she has taken our equality for granted. We are not going to let up on her until she takes action to insure that we are all protected in the workplace.”
Today is GetEQUAL’s first action since the group launched earlier this week. The effort against Pelosi is central to GetEQUAL’s mission to build and nurture a grassroots action network in key cities across the country when needed to fight for and protect LGBTQ rights.
To view a video of those participating in today’s San Francisco action as well as images from today’s action in Speaker Pelosi’s offices go to www.getequal.org/getenda/
Cam
Thank God somebody is finally doing something! Of course if they are sucessful HRC will just come in after it’a all over and claim to have been working with them all along. Countdown to HRC trolls coming in here to badmouth these two in 5….4….3….2…1…..
delurker
I don’t know much or care about HRC other than I know they are not liked by teh gay blogs. But these people are venturing into Cindy Sheehan/Code Pink territory and we know how effective they were in stopping the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Oh, wait.
Cam
No. 2 · delurker
I don’t know much or care about HRC other than I know they are not liked by teh gay blogs. But these people are venturing into Cindy Sheehan/Code Pink territory and we know how effective they were in stopping the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Oh, wait.
_________________________
cindy Sheehan was in a make-shift village outside of Bush’s house….these people are doing more what the suffergettes did to so women could attain the right to vote…hmmm, how effective was that?
Robert
@delurker:
I see absolutely 0 similarities between this and Code Pink.
delurker
My bad. Chaining yourself to the WH is a more effect form of protest than buying property next to a president’s private home.
Tara
Way to go Robin.
Cam
No. 5 · delurker
My bad. Chaining yourself to the WH is a more effect form of protest than buying property next to a president’s private home.
_______________
It’s gotten incredibly sympathetic coverage from CNN, Other than John Stewart mocking HRC for being Adminstration lap dogs, when was the last time they did anything that generated half of the favorable publicity?
delurker
I told you I don’t know or care for HRC. I just don’t think drama queen theatrics like chaining yourself to the gates of the WH are effective forms of protest.
Cam
No. 8 · delurker
I told you I don’t know or care for HRC. I just don’t think drama queen theatrics like chaining yourself to the gates of the WH are effective forms of protest.
___________________________
Compared to what? We got zero movement until the call went out to stop donating to the DNC, and a large march hit Washington DC, suddenly the bills are getting pushed. Back in the 80’s there was no movement on AIDS, then ACT-UP started their street protests and suddenly the path to market for drugs was cut by years. Seemed to work back then. So a question, since you seem to know what would help, why not let us know your thoughts?
[email protected]
Maybe its not an either / or- but multiple strategies- work from the inside and the outside to push an agenda forward.
missanthrope
“But these people are venturing into Cindy Sheehan/Code Pink territory and we know how effective they were in stopping the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.”
They’re also venturing in to Harvey Milk, Act Up and stonewall territory. And we all know how they were sucessful in winning gay rights (AIDs recognition), about a thousand times more effective than the HRC has ever done in the long run.
Those people didn’t send in emails or attend black-tie dinners, they got out on the streets and demanded that they be recognized.
missanthrope
“I told you I don’t know or care for HRC. I just don’t think drama queen theatrics like chaining yourself to the gates of the WH are effective forms of protest.”
So you just don’t know what the issue is about and want to pontificate about it?
Tell me, what is more effective than this? Giving another thousand dollars to the Democratic Party or HRC so they can laugh in your face and tell you “maybe in five more years, just until the next election, we promise!”
Vito
Ignore people like delurker. Sometimes the right wing likes to send in people to cause us to fight amongst ourselves. DON’T FEED THE TROLL.
Brian NYC
This is coordinated stupidity. These childish acts will only piss people off, including Pelosi and other Democrats.
These publicity stunts will end the conversation about DADT, ENDA and DOMA. Get ready for another 15-20 year wait.
Hyhybt
these people are doing more what the suffergettes did to so women could attain the right to vote…hmmm, how effective was that?
Depends on what you mean: it took them about 70 years, if I remember rightly. Of course, it would have taken longer otherwise.
Brian NYC
This stupidity is going to force Pelosi and the Democrats to say “we don’t have the votes to pass ENDA or DADT.”
I bet that wasn’t the goal.
Chance
You people really think that a little bit of street theatre stunts did more to progress the suffragette movement than the efforts of abstinence in a million American bedrooms?
chango
@Cam:
ed. Back in the 80’s there was no movement on AIDS, then ACT-UP started their street protests and suddenly the path to market for drugs was cut by years. Seemed to work back then.
ad hoc ipso propter hoc
And I don’t find the fight to end DADT analogous to the suffragette movement. Rather tenuous, but whatevs. That’s clearly your meme and you’re clearly sticking to it.
delurker
Their timing sucks, too. The media and everyone else are focusing on health care, health care, health care. These sideshows receive no real play outside of teh gay blogs.
Jon
Page 73 in your agenda manual.
Jon
@delurker: There’s no such thing as good time. Time is today.
Jon
Sorry kids. . .I’ve waited a half century, and laid down in the streets, and have been subjected to the political process of “wait, wait, wait” until the time and planets align.
Waiting for the next news cycle is never appropriate.
D'oh, The Magnificent
I agree with the Delurker Troll. We all know from history that the best way to obtain equality under the law is to politely ask for it.
jb
@D’oh, The Magnificent: I’d like to believe that the best way to obtain equality under the law is to ask for it. Looking for examples:
Magna Carta: NOPE
American Independence movement: NOPE
French Revolution: NOPE
American anti-Slavery movement: NOPE
American Women’s Suffrage movement: NOPE
American African American equality movement: NOPE
South African anti-Apartheid movement: NOPE
American AIDS movement: NOPE
HMMM, still looking for those examples…
D'oh, The Magnificent
@jb: I was being sarcastic. One of the problems with reasonable people is that they find the need to argue with unreasonable people. Delurker is obvious idiot, if not a troll. He or she did not deserve a single response comment other than to be made fun of like I did.
Josh AZ
WE are the fools tonight. This was stupid, childish behavior that didn’t accomplish anything.
It’s 2010 people. Grow up.
Alan Bounville
Oh – it was coordinated all right – and it is just the taste test of what is coming – get onboard now because the ride is about to get bumpy – and hold on tight because to crack open these systems of oppression WE THE PEOPLE are going to need to have STAMINA because it’s going to be a lot of work – but worth every second!
jb
@Josh AZ: Precisely Josh. It is 2010. by now we ought to have accomplished more than …… federal protections.
And even hate crimes are being challenged by states who are rejecting the federal bill.
So maybe is it time to GetEQUAL?
delurker
Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus because she wanted blacks to be able to sit anywhere on public buses.
The diner protesters sat in at segregated lunch counters because they wanted end discrimination in public accommodations.
Lt. Choi et al chained themselves to the WH gate because???
jb
@delurker: Because he serves at the behest of the Commander in Chief, at whose house he appeared.
Get it now?
Josh AZ
@Alan Bounville: More of this to come? That’s the worst news I could hear.
Today’s publicity stunts hurt us. They didn’t change any minds or endear anyone to our struggle.
We are now getting laughed at – just like the PETA crowd that used to throw blood on fur coats – that ended 15 years ago. Now, they do clever ad campaigns, instead.
I just don’t get why anyone would act foolish, instead of trying to be smart. But, I think about things.
jeffree
@Josh AZ: you sure do sound like Brian NYC!!!!@Brian NYC: what better ideas do you have mr. knowitall???
much easier to criticize other people than to offer good alternatives isnt it?!
Where is your skin in this game? what are u doing to help pass ENDA? or to repeal DADT ??
i expect silence from u on your highchair because you have N.O. B.E.T.T.E.R. I.D.E.A.S.
u r just lazy & whiney !!
delurker
@jb: what do you think the protest accomplished for a president focused on health care reform (the centerpiece of his agenda) and will probably move on to immigration reform next?
politics is a numbers game.
as you know (or not) on march 21, there is going to be a pro immigration reform rally in DC. if there are a lot of people who show up, the president and congress might be urged to move on this. if the gay community get similar numbers in a similar rally, it may light a fire. but is street theater like this really effective.
AndrewW
@Josh AZ: Sorry, I got confused again.
I agree this isn’t immediately helpful, but at least people know we’re mad.
Alan Bounville
@Josh AZ: Ahh – how little you know about PETA – PETA throwing blood and tossing over designers’ offices like Calvin Klein lead to many designers removing fur from their lines.
Research people!! Research!!!!
Cam
No. 18 · chango
@Cam:
ed. Back in the 80’s there was no movement on AIDS, then ACT-UP started their street protests and suddenly the path to market for drugs was cut by years. Seemed to work back then.
ad hoc ipso propter hoc
____________________
Sorry, it worked, The laws were changed.
——
You also said….
And I don’t find the fight to end DADT analogous to the suffragette movement. Rather tenuous, but whatevs. That’s clearly your meme and you’re clearly sticking to it.
_________________
Ok, so rather than come up with a reasonable argument, you just avoid it by saying the comparison doesn’t work under close examination. People fighting for rights, chained them selves up, they got their rights. Nitpick all you want, it’s similar and you have no argument debunking that so instead choose you flick your Scarlett O’Hara fan and dismiss something you don’t agree with because you have no way of debating it. fine.
DEREK WASHINGTON
I am slightly amused at those who don’t want these actions to take place. The alternative is? 30 more years of..? Millions of dollars more spent on…?
I’m waiting….