Left I on the News

This weekend, LGBT rights activists will converge on Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March. 30 years ago, I (and 75,000 others) had the privilege of attending the first such march, where I bought the button shown here (buttons seem to be going out of style at protest marches, by the way; not sure why). The struggle is long, and the struggle continues.

But as an indication of how the ground on which the struggle is being fought has shifted, see today's column by Ellen Goodman, in which she writes about a married gay couple in Texas (married in Massachusetts, but since moved because of a job transfer) who are now trying to get divorced. Texas, which of course thinks gay marriage is abhorrent (at least, the legislature does), is doing its best to make sure that this couple stays married by preventing them from getting divorced!

Remember when Bill Clinton signed the misnamed "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA)? Not to mention instituted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military, which we also learn today is being used to disproportionately kick women out of the military, and is part and parcel of the sexual harassment that is endemic in that sexist institution. I haven't forgotten, and I'm sure readers haven't either.