A long month full of organizing

This past month has been a whirlwind for my family and for myself.  On top of preparing for our move from NM to FL, lots of crazy overtime at work, school stuff for our daughter, we have been involved in some very important organizing on both local and national levels for Equality.  Since the Easter Egg Roll trip to DC, I have worked with my great group at NM GetEQUAL on organizing a series of visits to OFA offices in our area, particularly the state headquarters located in Albuquerque, .  GetEQUAL groups around the country have been paying visit to campaign offices to have dialogue about the executive order, and demonstrate in creative ways.  In NM, during the first week, we had a prepared statement about the EO and the need for a signature (and the lack of a valid reason for not signing from the White House).  Our second visit to OFA NM's office included an open letter to OFA. the letter was delivered with more pens, a spine, and the mock thank you card.  We then engaged our local OFA LGBT liaison in discussion about the executive order and about Obama's LGBT advocacy record.

Week three consisted of nearly two dozen activists from around the country traveling to DC to further escalate our issue.  We had things planned out pretty well, but as we were all heading to DC on Wednesday, news broke about the President announcing his support for equality (I will write more on my own views on that later).  So when everyone arrived that night, we had a long, difficult planning session on how to proceed.  In the end, the decision was made to forgo a pre-planned arrestable action at the White House and instead, picket with messaging of "Thank you" to the President, "AND.... sign the executive order, AND... stop LGBT bullying, AND... stop deporting our families".  So we picketed the White House Thursday morning with those signs.  It was important to give thanks for the support the President gave while reminding him of things that still need to be done, some of which he can do TODAY rather than next year.  The picket went well, and we all felt great about the work we had done.   

The next morning, we pulled together another action out of thin air.  Stories were going around the media about Mitt Romney's bullying activities (holding a kid down and cutting his long hair) in school.  Our managing director, Heather Cronk set out to hunt down scissors at some stores, while others worked on messsaging and signs.  Then we marched a mile to the RNC headquarters and protested just outside their door.  Great chants, like "Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Mitt Romney has got to go", and signage insisting that the RNC "cut out" bullyiing of LGBT people.  We received a lot of support from the public on this one, way more than I can remember receiving at any action ever!  It was a great action, and we got our messaging across just fine.  

What a month!  I've had a couple days of complete down time, and now time to get up and regroup, so much more work to be done (including packing for our move at the end of this month)! 

Onward!

ABQ Pride's Stonewall Award

Tonight, I was honored to accept Albuquerque Pride's Stonewall Award for advocating for equality and awareness for the LGBTQ community.  I must say, that of all the awards to win, one with the name Stonewall is just amazing!  I honestly never would have thought I would get such recognition, and so many people are responsible for without them, I am nothing!  I have had some requests for the text of the speech I gave tonight, so I will include it here.  I want to congratulate the award winners tonight, and also to congratulate each and every one of the nominees, because truly all were winners!  And with such amazing, strong people, Albuquerque and New Mexico is all the richer.  I will miss so many things about this state, including the amazing friends I've made here.  Ok, on to the speech:

This is truly an honor.  You’ll have to excuse me, I feel way out of my element.  I’m always more at home in jeans and a t-shirt yelling into a megaphone.   I want to thank my beautiful mother, my amazing fellow activists in NM GetEQUAL, including Miss Brittany Arneson, Gary Peterson and Jesse Lopez.   Thank you to all who have stood with me in the streets, sat in on conference calls, discussed politics and tactics over coffee, retweeted me, and engaged in discussions on Facebook!  Thanks to my amazing GetEQUAL team both locally and across the country, to the incredible team at Albuquerque Pride,  and thanks to friends and mentors who are not able to be here tonight: fellow activists Kelly Hutton, Michelle Wright, Heather Cronk, and David Fleck have all given me guidance and support.  Most importantly, thanks to my partner, Les, and our daughter Alegra, without whom I would not be able to function daily. 

I have had people ask me just what it is that motivates me, what gives me the drive to stand strong and fight oppression.  The quickest answer I can give is that I finally reached my boiling point, and am no longer able or willing to sit back and allow status quo to be “good enough” for myself, my family, or our community.  The system is slow, too slow for our youth who sometimes end up taking the tragic way out, too slow for LGBT families who face discrimination and inequality on a daily basis in hundreds of ugly ways, too slow for our transgender brothers and sisters who all too often are dismissed by society and discounted by loved ones as just going through a phase.  I say the system doesn’t have to be this slow.  If each and every one of us dedicates a little more time to the struggle, full equality in all areas governed by federal and local law can be a reality in the near future!  Whether that means talking to strangers about why this is important, working with our lawmakers to make a bold difference, taking legal action through the courts when necessary, or organizing on the streets and in our neighborhoods, is up to you.  I firmly believe that it will take all of these actions from as many of us as possible to truly effect change, and we CAN change not only the game but he pace of the game!  I thank each and every one of you and hope to see you on the streets!