Lock Me Up and Set Me Free! PASS ENDA NOW!

By  C.D. Kirven (Kirven was among the four activists who were arrested on 3/18/10 for refusing to leave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in D.C. Eight members of her group entered Pelosi’s office to urge action on the repeal of ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and enacting of the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA).)

“You have the right to remain silent!” a police officer stated as we were escorted through the door of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Washington D.C. office. I remember wondering how many civil rights activists have heard that exact same statement before me on their journey to obtain full equality. Our request was simple. Speaker Pelosi or a member of her staff commits on camera to send ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) to the floor for a vote by the end of the month.  The request was once again denied and a community once again invisible to its congressional representatives.

Four women, recently referred to as the ENDA Four, belonging to the LGBTQ community, stood together in an effort to obtain workplace protections and instead were arrested because we refused to continue to accept inaction.  Our meeting with Speaker Pelosi’s office staff began with the reading of a beautiful poem by Omar Clarke and individual stories about ENDA exclusion impacts. A chanting of the names of state representatives in support of ENDA legislation echoed through the office in an effort to bring awareness of the bill’s numerous supporters. Soon our voices faded into their political mantra and our pain was explained away with empty rhetoric wrapped in broken promises that sounded way too familiar.  We refused to fade into the background and decided to reclaim our voice. So we began to chant with a thunderous roar:  “I AM SOMEBODY and I DESERVE FULL EQUALITY… RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!”

For me, ENDA is about survival! But for many people, especially the transgender community, being out at work can be a death sentence. I’m convinced that the administration’s refusal to act on ENDA legislation despite President Obama’s assurances that ENDA was being explored is a slap in the face.  Mr. President, you asked the LGBTQ community to hold you accountable.

That accountability begins today and we will stand together against injustice! Speaker Pelosi and Congress know this:  “We will be heard. We demand to be counted! We will not stop fighting for our right to work and live free in our own country!”

You see, there have been too many casualties in the LGBTQ equality struggle with public acceptance of inhumane descriptions like “a man found dismembered on side of the road wearing woman’s clothes,” “a woman dressed as a man was stabbed defending her partner from an attack,” or “a solider was dishonorably discharged due to his sexual orientation.”

ENOUGH is ENOUGH! We will no longer sit silently by while our community is publicly ridiculed and privately persecuted. We understand that hate is easy and love with acceptance is hard but refuse to continue to allow our representatives to speak only for the moral majority, allowing their personal beliefs to outweigh our fundamental rights.  We will fight for every right we’ve been denied because a human right is not a campaign.  American rights are conceived in liberty, not dictated by politics.

I believe it is up to us to show ourselves as soldiers in the war against economic violence. We allowed prejudicial fists to hammer away at the face of the LGBTQ community way too long. LGBTQ oppressors listen up! If it’s a fight you want then it’s a fight you are going to get. The administration’s inaction is a silent acceptance of homophobia dressed up in public policy. For those within our community that do not understand our civil disobedience action, how many equality protest rallies have you attended, organized or congressmen have you lobbied? Many in our community will attend a party or donate money to an ineffective organization but refuse to stand with those willing to sacrifice for freedom.  We need you to work with us, not against us, because freedom will not ring at the bottom of a martini glass.

If you are tired of being ignored and want to stand up against injustice then please join us. There is a grassroots organization called Get Equal that needs your help and support. The face of the LGBTQ movement has changed and has become more representative of its community. We are of all races, sex, economic backgrounds and gender identities. Once we come together and find our collective voice we will be unstoppable and then full equality will be a reality, not just an objective.  Please go to Get Equal.org today! If you are in the Washington D.C. area on April 6^th (the trial date for the ENDA Four is April 6, 2010 in DC. There will also be rallies all over the country planned to support Lt. Dan Choi who chained himself to the White House fence in protest of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”), please support us or rally in your town.