I really love this idea. I think it has the potential to help our cause a lot.

Tom, I'm not so sure... The trouble is that marches on Washington have been done. Now if we don't get like well over a million of us there en masse we won't get the media's attention.

If we can actually organize 50 (+ D.C, P.R., etc) well-attended events all over the country and all on the same day, we can get national media attention because it's something different as well as a whole lot of local media attention.

What makes a heterosexual mother of three, retired, with problems of her own, get on the phone to her state representatives and demand rights for us? (answer at bottom)

Work from that point of view and remember how you comport yourself. The local media will smirk while telling the story and look for the most absurdly dressed person or the most outlandish behavior. I am always amazed at how we shoot ourselves in the foot at every media opportunity.

So do not make it a "Gay Pride" event with bar floats, leather chaps and glitter. It should be a peaceful protest of lack of equal rights under the law. If numbers are few in your action create a false funeral casket with the words "Matthew Shepherd" on them. Or the words "GLBT Victims of illegal discrimination." Think of a powerful visual message for television that will not make us the butt of their jokes and stereotyping. As Monica would point out march WITH THE AMERICAN FLAG as you demand equal rights under the law. Vets, wear your uniforms.

And before someone says it, I am not suggesting that men should "butch it up" or women should "femme it up." Be yourselves, as you would act and dress for a job interview, because you are being evaluated no less as much.

The little old lady will help people to whom she can relate. If you can obtain the help of even a few of those people you will have converted many more less conservative people.

Local actins are a good idea in rotation with a persistent round of regional and national marches. The strategy of militant mass actions is guaranteed to win equality, organized and educate our communities and cow our enemies. The loser strategy of desperate dependence on the latest Democrat version of the lesser bigot gets us Obama, whose increasingly hostile and chilly attitude seems to be focused on putting us on the back burner until the next election cycle. Then, as they did in 2007, the Democrats will dump our agenda in the name of political expediency.

It's a bad idea if it’s counterpoised to national and regional marches.

The point of mass marches is not to convert conservatives and bigots but to intimidate them and demonstrate that our ‘won’t take no for an answer’ will create social volatility until we’re satisfied. ‘De-gaying’ our efforts is always a disaster, as most recently shown by the fight against Prop 8.

As for the flag, it means different things to different people. I can’t see the point of confusing things by making it seem as if we’re a collection of pro-war rightist paytriots at a time when the national flag is being displayed over the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Those who feel they have to inject paytriotism into a march for human rights should at least carry it upside down to indicate distress.

This idea is definitely more economic and do-able than a march on Washington. It gives local groups more input and control.

I just saw the announcement by Robin Tyler and her organization, that 103 actions are planned for tomorrow, in 25 states and D.C. Twenty-five states is already pretty impressive as a spontaneous happening.

One possible drawback of so many marches, especially in red states: the law-enforcement fallout. Anyone who marches needs to get briefed on how state criminal codes have escalated the punishments for peaceful protest. It ain't like the Sixties any more. The other day I talked to a friend who was all worked up about getting his protest arrest on record, and I asked him if he was ready to face up to a year in prison for a single misdemeanor -- possibly even a felony conviction if prosecutors decide to slap him with a "conspiracy" charge. It turned out that he had no idea how punitive the laws have gotten.

Personally I think there are more effective, less risky ways of leveraging our society towards change. Legislators need to know that they will be "fired" from their jobs by angry voters if they continue to support laws that actually deny equality under the law.

A 50-state march certainly makes more sense if you want to get more people involved in these recessionary times. I might be able to swing a day trip to Austin; there is no way I could possibly manage a trip to Washington, D.C.

Also, remember the impact and publicity of the nationwide rallies for immigration reform a couple years ago? Something like this that is well-publicized, local and regional, and seems to happen everywhere -- not just way off in Washington -- has a potentially greater impact on people here at home.