Writing Sample: This Is Only the Beginning: The fight for equal marriage rights
Original Date of Publication: 10.28.09
The crowd chanted.
Full. Equal. Rights. Now.
Location, Washington, D.C., home to many of the greatest moments in our country’s history.
You heard it in 1963 and you are hearing it again in 2009.
Same setting, different cause.
On both occasions, it did not matter your race, ethnicity, culture, or creed. What mattered was your voice and your presence to fight for equality. In 1963, the Civil Rights Movement was fighting for equality for the African-American population in the United States.
This year, over 200,000 Americans came together to fight for another chance for equality. Equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Now. This was their mission, and they intended to make it known.
With the crowd gathered before the Capitol building, Lady Gaga took the stage. Standing on an equipment suitcase hidden behind the podium, she towered over the microphone and cried out over the crowd.
“Obama, are you listening,” the pop star shouted over the speakers, “Are you listening?”
Broadway Impact, a New York based community of actors, directors, producers, and stage managers, also made their presence known at the rally.
The group sponsored over 25 charter buses, free of charge for passengers, to bring marchers from New York City to the rally in Washington. Several Broadway stars performed at the march, utilizing their gifted voices to reach out and keep the spirit alive in the crowd.
“Settling back into reality and praying for that fire to stay,” Gavin Creel, current cast member of the Broadway revival of “Hair”, posted on his Twitter as he rode the train back to New York.
The fire he spoke of is only the beginning. The march introduced what will be a long campaign for equality. Keeping that flame burning is vital to the cause.
The events on October 11th, also known as National Coming Out Day, were not strictly confined to Washington, however. Rallies were also held across the country in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
LGBT Change, an organization founded last year in Chicago, planned the local event at Daley Plaza. Those who couldn’t make the trek to Washington, gathered in the frigid fall air under the Picasso statue at 1 p.m. for a rally of their own.
Rainbow flags waved in the wind as signs bobbed up and down among the crowd.
“Marriage is a human right, not a heterosexual privilege,” one sign read.
Scott Jaburek, a student at Walter Payton High School in Chicago, was the youngest voice to address the crowd.
“Our movement did not begin because of equal marriage rights and it must not end when they are ultimately achieved,” Jaburek said. “Our equality is about more than a marriage certificate, it is about respect, tolerance, and love for every LGBT person in every part of our nation.”
As Jaburek stepped away from the microphone the crowd clapped and cheered as the next line of speakers took their turns, speaking eloquently and with passion to their fellow supporters and friends.
Anthony Martinez, 29, a co-founder of LGBT Change was quite proud of their accomplishment that day.
“Now is the time to send a clear message to our elected officials that we will no longer be complacent,” Martinez stated. “This is a huge turning point for the LGBT community and we hope it is a way to get more people involved here in Chicago.”
As the rally came to a close and marchers retreated from the cold rally site to the El stations, a sign remained propped up against the Picasso statue.
“Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right.”
