From Baltimore Gay Life

'Gay Rights Are Civil Rights'

700 Attend Jazz Brunch; Raise $48,000 for Equality Maryland

by Scott Baum

November 25, 2005

An estimated 700 gays and lesbians and their allies gathered at the Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel for Equality Maryland's third annual Jazz Brunch on Sunday, November 20.

In his opening remarks, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley remarked that this gathering was "an enormously powerful crowd."

O'Malley and a slew of other state and local politicians were in attendance, showing their support for the LGBT community while getting a sense of the growing political clout of Maryland's gay community.

They ranged from openly gay state delegates Anne Kaiser and Richard Madaleno to local elected officials from western Maryland, from Log Cabin Republican leaders to the head of the states Democratic Party.

By some estimates, it was the largest political gathering of the LGBT community in Maryland.

"People across the state including elected officials and candidates will surely take notice at the rapid growth and determination of our movement," said Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland. "The turn out was representative of the cohesiveness, tenacity, energy and strength of thousands of Marylanders from all walks of life who believe in a better state."

Equality Maryland, said Anthony McCarthy who served as master of ceremonies, "Is one of the most respected organizations in the halls of Annapolis."

The event was a chance to rally, an opportunity to honor a local leader, and a chance to raise funds for Equality Maryland.

Gay and Lesbian Rights

Julian Bond, a long-time national civil rights leader and executive chairman of the NAACP, was the keynote speaker. Bond and other speakers drew parallels between the black civil rights movement and the current battles the LGBT community is facing.

"When I am asked, 'Are gay rights civil rights?' my answer is always, 'Of course they are,'" Bond told the crowd.

"Gay and lesbian rights are not 'special rights' in any way. It isn't 'special' to be free from discrimination - it is an ordinary, universal entitlement of citizenship."

Anti-gay marriage amendments, said Bond, are about more than just gay marriage. "They threaten all unmarried couples. Many of these propositions could eliminate domestic partnership and reciprocal beneficiary recognition, revoke some adoptions, and imperil joint home ownership between unmarried people."

And while many people talk about a gay agenda, "it is those who oppose gay marriage who are actually the ones with the larger agenda," said Bond. "They want covenant marriages, new restrictions not just on sex education but on science education, and restrictions on divorce."

Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement

Many of the speakers referred to the civil rights struggle that the African American community fought in the '60s and '70s.

O'Malley told the story of how his eight-year-old son after watching a documentary on Rosa Parks had asked the question, "Didn't they know they were all going to the same place?"

Many people who have taken part in the black civil rights movement have taken exception with any parallels drawn by the LGBT civil rights movement.

"People of color ought to be flattered that our movement has provided so much inspiration for others, that it has been so widely imitated," said Bond, "and that our tactics, methods, heroines and heroes, even our songs, have been appropriated by or served as models for others."

For his part, Furmansky sees strength in numbers.

"It is clear that we need to build the broadest coalition possible and all civil rights and progressive organizations should have a place at that table," said Furmansky.

"As LGBT people, we sometimes forget we are not the only ones with something at stake here. Everyone has an interest in the direction our country is moving in. Every constituency we work with presents differing challenges, our job is to meet those challenges by respecting the unique dialogue that is taking place within that community be it the African American community, Jewish community, Asian Pacific Islander communities, or Latino communities."

As one final lesson from the black civil rights movement that Bond impressed upon the crowd was "that sometimes the simplest of ordinary acts - taking a seat on a bus or a lunch counter, registering to vote, applying for a marriage license - can have extraordinary ramifications. It can change our world, change the way we act and think."

In addition to the address from Bond, the event was an opportunity for Equality Maryland to honor Colette Roberts, the chair of the Howard County chapter of PFLAG. Roberts said her four children - including her lesbian daughter Nina - gave her and her husband "plenty of reasons to be hysterical. Being gay was not one of them."

The event raised an estimated $48,000 for Equality Maryland.