The crowd was spirited despite the weather, and we attracted considerable attention from passing pedestrians and motorists. Several news outlets were on hand to report, including, of course, Bay Windows (which is sure to have the best coverage.) Unfortunately the rain scared away the broadcast media, even though we had several confirmations before hand. We also drew City Council candidate Andrew Kenneally, who earned my vote with his loyal presence.
After about 15 minutes in the rain, we marched a short distance, still chanting, to the indoor comfort of historic Old West Church. There personal statements from victims Jonathan and Jeff were read out; both were powerful and moving. (I shared copies with Laura Kiritsy, editor of Bay Windows.) I read Jeff’s statement, and Join the Impact MA Co-Chair Kate Leslie read Jonathan’s. The audience was riveted. In my own remarks I drew a parallel between the injustice suffered by the victims of Brandao’s hate violence and the acquittal of the bashers who perpetrated the 1988 attack on Anti-Violence Project Board member Jim Brinning. In both cases the Boston Municipal Court failed the LGBT community. Ethan St. Pierre, another AVP Board member, spoke as a trans man and noted that anti-trans hate crimes typically went unpunished. He mentioned Channelle Picket, whose murderer was convicted of mere assault and battery. The hate crimes laws that protect gays and lesbians currently do not extend to the trans community. Paul Sousa, Co-chair of Join the Impact MA, exhorted the intrepid band who turned out to stay involved. Go to the website www.jointheimpactma.com and sign up for the list.
The message to come out of the protest was that LGBT activists are closely watching how the criminal justice system handles cases of sexual orientation and gender-identity related hate violence; our attention will be sustained through the work of JTIMA and the AVP. Injustices like that suffered by Jim Brinning 20 years ago, and Jonathan and Jeff 3 weeks ago will be met with fierce resistance. We will not rest until the hate crimes laws are being faithfully carried into effect throughout our progressive Commonwealth. We put the people of Massachusetts on notice that we are not where we should be in terms of fighting hatred.
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p>You got your rights! There ain’t no ban! A man can freely marry a man!
the hold on, i got a pope ratzinger joke for ya. oh wait, it’s not so funny when it’s something important to you, is it? huh.
When you go off-message. We don’t live in California. A gay person in Massachusetts (aside from Federal differences like the military and DOMA restrictions) has the same rights as I do. This protest had nothing to do with DOMA or the military, and therefore that chant is trite.
… states at one point. I don’t think abolitionists in states that were already ‘free’ were wrong to consider the situation still a problem for everyone. These married homosexual people in Massachusetts don’t have the right to leave the state with their freedoms in tact. In a job market that has increasingly become mobile, this is actually a huge consideration.
has blinded you. what mr. lynne says below is 100% on target. i, who live in washington state, cam considered married in canada, iowa, massachusetts, connecticut, and soon vermont and maybe maine. in my own state, i am a domestic partner with 40% the rights of my married self in the above polities. in neighboring idaho and my home state of michigan, i’m shit on shit shingle.
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p>there is something else to consider joe – it means the world to people living in non-equality states to know that people in equality states are still working hard for them and to make them full citizens in every state and under federal law. your work for equality, joe, is not finished, so please don’t undermine the afflicted by making fun of others who are still doing the hard work of advancing civil rights. it’s just not productive.