Hey, if people are pissed and energized enough.....why not a national GLBt strike? For two days no LGBt person works or buys a damn thing..if you want to make a point about economic realities and who's being screwed this would do it.

How about it HRC?

Skip the turkey this year unless your family is already accepting. It will turn into an argument expecially if they are religious. Stay with Facebook and your local LGBT protest groups for moral support. They are now your real family.

One of the things that the "out in their faces" protests do is to dispel the myth, nurtured by years of negotiating and compromising rights to get "the best that we can, " crumbs that we quietly plead for and greatfully accept from the hands of the oppressors whose jackboot is firmly affixed to our necks as we take the small morsel; the myth that we are docile, quiet, and without the backbone to lead a cultural revolution on the streets.

Suprise, Christian Right! We still do have the spirit of Harvey Milk, Sylvia Rivera in our ranks. We are done with medicating ourselves with the opiate of "incrementalism" or compromise.

All of us, all of our rights, and NOW, thank you!

Please publicize any events in the D.C. area.

Michael, while I agree on the worth of a "50 state strategy", I think that it must take into account that not all GLBT communities in all states are at the same place in our journey. Along the coasts, mostly, the marriage equality ship has either arrived in the harbor (Massachussets, Connecticut) although the dis-embarking process has been jeopardized (Prop 8 in California). In others the pros and cons of civil unions vs. full marriage equality are taking place. Elsewhere, in too many places, the boat has either been sunk by a "Marriage Protection Amendment" and the name of the game is perhaps long and arduous salvage before proceeding. Somewhere in the middle is the situation I experience in my own state (Indiana), where we've successfully beaten back such an amendment but antigay forces will surely ressurrect it. So in my state, at least, anything approaching pro-active marriage equality legislation (by whatever name) may be a number of sailing days/weeks/years away.

I'm particularly concerned over the near-demonization of civil unions that may be laudable and make perfect sense in one place but which would be detrimental where the name of the game is at present is to simply pry the door back open or to keep it from slamming shut on even the most modest of marriage equality measures. While there may be cogent arguments that as in the racial area, "separate but equal is not equal", in some states at some time there may have to be a tough choice when one is within reach but the other remains much further away. I'm concerned about the ability to just preserve the ability to have that discussion.

The voices of protest an energizing and have their proper role. But so does careful reflection, not as a diversionary drag on the inevitable movement forward, but as an ever-vigelent check on the seaworthiness of the compass.

I'm headed to Utah for Christmas. And I'm taking the pledge, Michael. Please pray for us! Seriously!

One word, Michael: amen.

I just want to give a shout out to the wonderful signs in the pic in this blog post. Love it!!

Oh, and I want some magic undies, please :)

Michael -- we're not waiting until the holidays. We're dealing with it now in our family circles. No need to wait 'til the turkey's served. Your relatives might even be grateful you're not dumping on Aunt Tilly in a manner that could cause her to heave on the candied yams. Do it early and give everyone some time to process.

And, Charles, you're right. People should make sure they have all the proper data and emotional support they need lined up before dealing with the ignorant and unprepared to love well. But they don't have to have all the answers. The truth of their own lives is a powerful thing if they're able to handle the consequences of telling it. Referrals to expert data can always come later.

As for infrastructure and movement building, as folks facing oral arguments with the Iowa Supremes in December and having just gotten hold of an embargoed release from the Des Moines Catholic Diocese that puts gaining a marriage ban amendment at the top of their legislative agenda for the upcoming session, we'd like to assure you we're swimming as fast upstream as we can -- but that the current here is swift and the rocks many and sharp. As Bette would say, "It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Marla,

I didn't say that people should wait for the holidays. Everyone should go for it when ready.

I do think that the holidays offer a good time when people are together to have the conversation.