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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Op-ed: Movements Don't Stop and Start Every Two Years
When the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes to vote today on the repeal of
the Defense of Marriage Act, it could have far-reaching impacts that are
difficult to imagine now.
By Adam Bink, op-ed contributor
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PATRICK LEAHY 390x (GETTY) ADVOCATE.COM
Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of Judiciary Committee
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the Respect for Marriage
Act, a bill that repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Barring
complications with amendments or unforeseen circumstances, all 10 Democrats
are expected to vote to pass the bill, sending it to the full Senate for
consideration. This is a milestone that's been a long time coming.
When I talk about the effort to repeal DOMA, I often focus on the milestones
we’ve reached since the Respect for Marriage Act was introduced in March:
a record number of senators supporting repeal (31), a record number of House
members also on board (133), public support for repeal at a record high (
over 50%), a majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee pledging to vote “
aye” on the repeal bill today, and a president who has formally endorsed
the bill, despite a longstanding policy of the Obama administration to never
take a position on bills that haven’t passed at least one house of
Congress.
Despite all of this, people scoff. If you live inside the Beltway, you
probably hear (or are thinking) what we've heard since Election Day 2010: "
So what? It'll never get through the Republican-controlled House, so why
bother?" It's a classic cynical response to organizing, one that overvalues
the short-term and shortchanges the long-term.
Movements don't start and stop every two years.
It wasn’t like we
all woke up the day after Election Day 2008 and said to ourselves, “We may
have a pro-repeal House, Senate and president coming in January. I guess we
can go start repealing 'don’t ask, don’t tell'!" If we did that, then we
would have wasted more than a decade. What if we had all said, “Why bother
spending our time trying to get rid of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell?’” every
single year from 1995 to 2001, when anti-repeal Republicans controlled the
House and Senate? What if we continued saying it from 2001 to 2009, when
President George W. Bush and a majority of Congress opposed repeal, and we
all sat on our hands for 17 years in total? Then when we finally reached the
tipping point last year, public opinion would not have climbed to an
astounding 77% nationwide in support of DADT repeal. Stories like those of
Lt. Dan Choi would not have changed hearts and minds across America. We
would not have had the critically important Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Adm. Mike Mullen on board, nor hundreds of members of Congress, nor
editorials in newspapers across America in support of repeal. All of that
took work, and if we had waited 17 years to even start it, we would not have
been in a position to deliver the final blow that we did in December 2010.
Movements aren’t built in two years, and they don’t start and stop every
two years. Organizing doesn't and shouldn't start and stop depending on who
has the gavel in the House or who sits in the Oval Office. It starts when
there’s a problem. Today, service members are still treated as second-class
citizens because of DOMA, as are legally married same-sex couples. So there
’s a problem, and the organizing must begin now.
What's the benefit of today's vote? First, take a moment and think of five
friends and family members who don't even know what DOMA is, much less
support its repeal. I'd bet that by the end of the month, three of them will
have heard something about it, because today's vote will make headlines in
news outlets large and small. It will change hearts and minds among those
who are opposed or undecided, and the polling numbers might even tick up a
point or two as a result.
Second, today's vote will provide momentum. Courage Campaign and its 750,000
members nationwide are organizing with Freedom to Marry and our state-based
allies across the country for DOMA repeal. Progress excites and empowers
people, and turns citizens into activists. Moreover, if successful, we can
take the result to people like Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania,
and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, with whom we've met and our members have
petitioned, and ask when they're going to board the train that's leaving the
station.
Third, today's vote will set benchmarks for who our friends are in the
Senate. "Don't ask, don't tell" is dead; we know who stood with us to make
it that way. But gay and lesbian service members are still treated as second
-class citizens because of DOMA. It's not enough for a senator to say, "Sure
, you can put your life on the line for your country, even if you're gay.
But you can't have the same benefits as the straight person in the next bunk
." Going into 2012, we need to know who service members' real friends are,
and today's vote will be our first clue.
Bottom line: We may not get to the finish line on repealing DOMA before this
Congress adjourns. But if you're working to repeal DOMA with us, don't let
anyone tell you that your work is a waste of time. If we wake up within
shouting distance of having enough votes come January 2013, then we need to
be in a position to deliver the final blow, otherwise we may miss our chance
. We repealed "don't ask, don't tell" — at the eleventh hour, at the very
end of the last Congress, and with some last-minute legislative maneuvering
at that. Couples suffering from DOMA deserve a quicker resolution. That
means we need to start changing senators' minds now. Success is not measured
by what we can do now, but by progress we’ve made to achieve a goal.
We don’t have any time to waste. We need to build the same kind of movement
to repeal DOMA as the one that repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and we
need to start it now. | o****g
发帖数: 657 | 2 sometimes there is only a FINE line between optimism and Naiveté
of
Marriage
Democrats
【在 g********d 的大作中提到】
: Op-ed: Movements Don't Stop and Start Every Two Years
: When the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes to vote today on the repeal of
: the Defense of Marriage Act, it could have far-reaching impacts that are
: difficult to imagine now.
: By Adam Bink, op-ed contributor
: SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PATRICK LEAHY 390x (GETTY) ADVOCATE.COM
: Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of Judiciary Committee
: Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the Respect for Marriage
: Act, a bill that repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Barring
: complications with amendments or unforeseen circumstances, all 10 Democrats
| g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 3 sometimes there is only a FINE line between sophistication and cynicism.
【在 o****g 的大作中提到】
: sometimes there is only a FINE line between optimism and Naiveté
:
: of
: Marriage
: Democrats
| X*******H
发帖数: 720 | |
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