What a wonderful feeling it is to see so many energized and loving GLBT supports. There is nothing like knowing we are all there for the same reason; it quickly made me realize I am not alone on this quest for equality.
When I first arrived at the Capitol I was one of maybe thirty, which was nice because it allowed me to be front and center. I was welcomed by warm smiles and rainbow colored signs. Within 10 minutes, every hallway leading to the House Chamber was packed with supporters and equality signs filled the air. Security quickly started making narrow pathways for the House members to walk through. Those pathways were why we were there; we wanted to see the House members before they entered the Chamber. We wanted them to see us, hear us and feel our presence; and I can happily say they did.
As soon as a House member was spotted the chants began:
Gay, Straight, Black, White Marriage is a Civil Right Gay, Straight, Black, White Marriage is a Civil Right
The crowd got louder as each member grew closer. You didn’t have to actually see the House member to know where he/she was because the noise walked with them. As the noise got closer to me, I got louder; and before I knew it I was pumping my fist in the air screaming:
Gay, Straight, Black, White Marriage is a Civil Right
I felt like I was back in High School at the Homecoming pep rally, preparing my team for a victory. The chants kept going until Senator Dibble made his way to the crowd and once he was spotted the chant quickly changed to:
Dibble Dibble Dibble DibbleEveryone quickly stepped forward in hopes of getting a glimpse of him. I was lucky enough to actually see him make is way down the hallway, he was grinning from ear to ear. Just seeing his face light up was worth my trip to the Capitol; it was sending him the message of hope, a message that he was not alone.
The House members and Senators continued to make their way down the pathway and we continued to chant. A highlight was when some of the House and Senate members stayed out in the hallway with us. They worked the crowd, chanting with us, waving their hands in the air. It was nice to know they are working for us, they supported us.
After an hour the members stopped coming down the pathway and the crowd slowly dispersed; the rally was coming to an end. As I was about to leave I spotted this couple in what was left of the crowd; they were holding a copy of their Iowa Marriage Certificate. I left hoping my presence made a difference and that change was soon to follow.
Wish I would have been there looks like fun. Darn work!
Thanks for keeping us all up to date on the happenings at the Capitol! I wish I could have been there, but your writing and photos helped me imagine what it would have been like. Thank you!
I love the phots of the elderly lesbians holding their Iowa marriage certificate. I don’t know why, but elderly lesbians always get to me! I guess I just think about that they are the living legacy of a time when being “out” meant risking everything from your job to your life. Yet so many of these couple have been together for decades! How courageous that in the face of all the years of hatred their love still shines strong. How could you look at such a beautiful couple and say they do not deserve the same civil rights and protections the rest of MNs have?
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Lori Wilfahrt Speech at Outserve October 2011
Thanks to the Internet, I watched the mother of U.S. Army Corporal Andrew Wilfahrt (Killed In Action in Afghanistan in 2011) speak at the first conference of OutServe.org (The Association of Actively Serving LGBT Military Personnel) after the repeal of the military’s discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. For some fifty years I have been a student of, and participant in, public speaking, oral argument, and advocacy writing. Lori Wilfahrt’s speech was elegant: graceful, dignified, and powerfully simple.
Andrew Wilfahrt’s legacy is just beginning because of the extraordinary efforts of both his
parents for the cause of marriage equality. For military and civilian gay people, marriage
equality would mark the end of the last major vestige of government-sanctioned discrimination in our country. The ideal of equality is baked into to soul of America. The Founding Fathers considered the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to be unalienable rights, even though their own lives did not reconcile discrimination based on race, gender, and sexuality. The reconciliation of the ideal in concept with the actual experience of equality has taken hundreds of years. Andrew’s legacy now contributes to that reconciliation of equality, through the speeches of his parents (multiplied on the Internet) and conversations around “Andrew’s Round Table.”
I can imagine that the spirit of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt is dancing for joy to experience his
mom and dad speaking with such elegant power. With grace and dignity, they are embracing positions of advocacy accidentally arising because their son (who happened to be gay) had the courage to volunteer for the military, and gave his life serving a country founded on the ideal of equality.
I couldn’t agree more! They are truly amazing human beings and Andrew would be so proud!
For insight into our Constitutional Republic form of government and marriage equality, go to:
Website: YouTube.com
Posting Organization: catoinstitutevideo
Video: The Constitutional Case for Marriage Equality