[CIMC-work] Equal Marriage Rights Article from Andy Thayer - let's do the center panel!

[DCPGolightly at aol.com]

Equal Marriage Rights in Illinois:
WHY We Need It
HOW We Can Get It

While gay marriage may be the "issue du jour" for many on the left, activists 
within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community have 
been fighting for equal marriage rights for years (see 
http://cabn.org/archives/2001/021401gaymarriage.html and related pages).  The difference for our 
community today is that rather than involving small groups of activists, larger 
numbers are active now, motivated in part by the knowledge that victory is within 
striking distance if we seize the hour.

While the attention of the left and the heightened activism within our 
community may be new, our widespread desire for equal marriage rights is not.  Well 
before the current media barrage over the issue, a 1999 survey of LGBT people 
found that winning equal marriage rights rated #1 among concerns in our 
community.  And for those tempted to repeat the anti-gay stereotype that this 
concern demonstrates the allegedly "middle class" nature of gay people, there are 
the results of the most thorough survey of African American LGBT people (who 
arguably are disproportionately working class, thanks to racist barriers to 
economic advancement).  This second survey found that equal marriage rights rated a 
very close third (almost a statistical tie) among African American LGBT 
people.

The reasons why most gay people want to have the right to marry whom we 
choose should not be too hard for others to understand.  It's a simple question of 
equality or discrimination - no if's, and's or but's.  For those of you who 
are heterosexual, how would you like it if the government or anyone else had the 
chutzpah to think they had the right to tell YOU whom you could or could not 
marry?!  Well yes, most of us gay people feel that same anger and insult, 
regardless of whether or not we want to marry someone right now, or ever.  What 
you take for granted as your right, is a battle for the rest of us.  Aside from 
the personal insult we feel when any politician or preacher feels they can 
dictate to us in this way, we understand that we are not really citizens in this 
country until the government treats us as the legal equals of heterosexuals.   

That said, many in our community want to marry for many of the same reasons 
straight people do.  Many straight couples get married because they plan on 
having kids, or want to provide a secure future for the kids they already have.  
Well guess what?  So do many LGBT people.  While some 52% of different-sexed 
couples living together are raising kids, some 42% of Lesbians living together 
and some 33% of gay men living together are themselves raising kids (source: 
U.S. Census Bureau).  In a society where so many responsibilities for bringing 
up kids are thrust on the family, having a piece of paper from the government 
becomes a survival issue.

Aside from taking care of kids, there are many other core, survival issues.  
I've personally met couples who potentially might be broken up because one of 
their number is not a citizen, and unlike a heterosexual couples, they cannot 
be naturalized by dint of becoming married.  A dear friend of mine just turned 
65 and she worries that when she dies, her partner will not get Social 
Security Survivor Benefits, which could be the difference between whether or not her 
surviving spouse can keep their house.

In smaller cities and rural areas the desire for equal marriage rights is 
greater than in the gay Shangrilas like Chicago, New York and San Francisco.  The 
reason isn't hard to figure out.  Outside of big cities, families are an even 
more important support mechanism.  For example, here in Chicago, even though 
I don't have health insurance, I can still go down to Stroger Hospital if I'm 
really sick.  In rural areas, the "choice" may be access to a spouse's health 
insurance through their job, or nothing.

The above outline just scratches the surface of the reasons why most LGBT 
people want the right to marry whom we choose.  The General Accounting Office has 
documented over 1000 government benefits which come with marriage at the 
federal level alone.  The next big question is, how can we bring equal marriage 
rights to Illinois?

Back in February, Mayor Daley made his widely quoted remark that he has "no 
problem with gay marriage."  Before we get all gooey-eyed about this statement, 
we need to look at the context in which it was made to see if Daley's 
objective truly was equal marriage, or if a different agenda was at work.  The red 
flag was when he claimed he had "no power" to implement equal marriage rights.  
A Daley scion with "no power" to implement a measure in the County of Cook, or 
the State of Illinois?!  THAT must have come as a rude shock to the legions 
of machine hacks in this state!  

While the formal power to issue marriage licenses rests with Cook County 
Clerk David Orr, the Daley machine controls the majority of the Cook County Board 
and the minority, frequently led by Commissioner Mike Quigley, has repeatedly 
stuck its neck out for pro-gay measures not favored by the administration, 
such as the successful nixing of the County's sweetheart contract with the 
anti-gay Boy Scouts of America.  If Daley truly supported equal marriage rights, it 
would be a shoo-in.

The truth is that when Daley made his "no problem with gay marriage" 
statement, he was in the midst of the most serious political scandal ever faced by his 
administration - the mob-influenced hired truck debacle which forced the 
firing of his own cousin.  He was desperate to change the subject of the daily 
newspaper headlines, and the #1 issue in our community was the diversion which 
allowed him to do that.  If, like with George Ryan and the death penalty, he had 
not only used our issue to change the headlines, but also had actually DONE 
something for our issue, we might be more charitable.  The reality is that he 
used our rights and our lives as a cheap political football, and hoped we would 
keep silent about the fact that we were being used.

This week we've actually seen a small, but significant concession from the 
Democratic machine thanks to the series of protests -- the hundreds who thronged 
the Marriage License Bureau on Monday, the impetuous 70-foot banner drop from 
the parapet of Daley's castle, the roof of the City/County Building, and the 
couples who continue to demand equal treatment at the counter of the License 
Bureau.

For years Orr simply said he could not issue marriage licenses to same-sex 
couples because it is against the law.  On Monday, he admitted for the first 
time, in writing, that the law not only was unjust, but "unconstitutional."  So 
here we have the specter of an officer of the government -- sworn to uphold the 
Illinois State Constitution -- who clings to the notion that he must violate 
that Constitution in order to follow an unjust, tin can alley law.  Talk about 
screwed up priorities!

Like with Massachusetts, the anti-gay laws violate the equal protection 
clause of the State Constitution.  As long as constitutionally-sworn officers think 
it is okay to violate the Constitution, to cravenly hide behind unjust laws 
and allow themselves to be tools in violating our rights, we will use every 
means necessary to oppose them and their policies.  

We know from past experience that even the bullying, obstreperous Daley 
machine can be forced to change its policies if widespread enough pressure is 
brought to bear.  We remember that it was a firestorm of protest which forced the 
City to triple its AIDS budget many years ago.  More recently, we remember that 
the Richard M. Daley who one day said he OPPOSED a moratorium on the death 
penalty, and 48 hours later after a series of inventive protests, said he 
SUPPORTED the moratorium.  The Imperial Daley of x'd-out airfields and Millenium 
Park boondoggles is not all powerful.  With smart organizing and a bit of luck, 
we can make Cook County the Massachusetts of the Midwest.

Andy Thayer is with DontAmend.com, a national network dedicated to stopping 
the proposed anti-gay amendment to the federal Constitution, and winning full, 
equal marriage rights.  A DontAmend.com piece on the national Democratic Party 
 vs. the equal marriage rights issue can be found at 
http://www.washblade.com/2004/5-14/view/columns/astro.cfm   Andy is also co-founder of the Chicago 
Anti-Bashing Network (www.CABN.org) and a member of Equal Marriage NOW! 
(www.EqualMarriageNOW.org), the local Chicago coalition which has organized many of the 
protests.  He can be reached at CABNstopthehate at aol.com
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