The LGBTQ Movement and Local Activism
The great strides the LGBTQ movement has managed to make over the last 40 years can be credited to the actions of many small grassroots movements. Over time the efforts of these small groups of people have transformed into an avalanche of progress.
Let’s start by first talking about the iconic Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to win an election for public office. Harvey beat sixteen other candidates for a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors back in 1977. He inspired many other LGBTQ members to run for office and made a national statement about the strength of the LGBTQ movement’s political strength.
Another great movement was the state of Vermont’s legislators working together to make themselves the first state to recognize civil unions between same-sex partners. The majority Democratic lead House of Representatives voted 76 to 69 in favor of the recognition, with the governor Howard Dean quickly signing the bill into action. Many states followed suit after Vermont and later forced the Supreme Court to have a ruling on the matter that legalized same-sex marriages across the country.
In 1998 Mathew Shepard, a gay college student, and James Byrd Jr. were brutally murdered in two separate incidents. The story made national news bringing the issue of hate crimes to the country’s attention. This would eventually result in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act passed in 2009 under Obama. The Democratic Party leveraged their majority to amend the act to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010, which gave federal authorities the power to prosecute hate crimes.
In 2009 Vermont again led the charge and was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage fully. Over the next two years, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, the District of Columbia, and New York followed. These states took the lead, eventually leading to the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges to force all states to recognize same-sex marriages.
Victories like the above brought much awareness to the LGBTQ movement, which paved the way for bigger and better things. Being involved in city or state elections can have a considerable impact on the larger scheme. What might seem like small and inconsequential victories to you can later down the road mean more significant wins. Any amount of volunteering and engagement in the voting process helps to make these things happen. If unsure where to start, I suggest volunteering your time at an organization like Rideshare2Vote. Voting is a crucial step that has allowed the LGBTQ movement to flourish.
by Ricardo Penso
