Amy and I asked Boston based Lisa Marshall of JTI Massachusetts to contribute today’s post:
“I’m so excited right now I can hardly sit still. Vermont, in an unprecedented move, has overturned the governor’s veto and voted in favor of marriage equality by one vote. One vote! Thank you Vermont, thank you VT Freedom to Marry, thank you everyone who played a part in this victory. Congratulations to all of us. I am so optimistic right now about the future of marriage equality. Vermont, you have fired us up, you have inspired us, and you have shown us that this fight can be won.
I think back to the elections of 2004, when so many states passed laws and amendments banning gay marriage. Well, 2009 is not 2004. The tide is turning. Massachusetts. Connecticut. Iowa. and now Vermont. Plus, as of today, DC will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, just like New York does. Four down. Forty Six to go. Today, this feels possible, even inevitable.
I don’t pretend that marriage alone equals equality, but today I feel hopeful that we will advance equality in its many forms. This morning, I heard the announcement about Vermont while standing amongst hundreds of people who came to the Massachusetts’s statehouse to lobby their representatives for trans equality. Byron Rushing, the very eloquent lead sponsor of the trans rights bill we were lobbying for, said it right when he said that it is time for our great nation to protect the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for all people. So, I say hurray for Vermont for bringing us one step closer to this goal!”
JTI MA has been hard at work since they came together to plan JTI’s initial Nov. 15 protest. They’ve since continually coming up with fabulous ideas working for all aspects of full equality for LGBT people, and recently created an amazing resource that will be used nationally for Tax Day 2009 www.taxday2009.com
Thanks so much to all the folks at JTI MA and every other city’s groups who have continued the grassroots fight!
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