On October 10 and 11, Washington DC will witness thousands of LGBT persons and their allies marching “to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” The event is sponsored and organized by Equality Across America, “a network of decentralized organizers in every one of the 435 Congressional districts.”
Commondreams.org reports that the march has been endorsed by the National Organization of Women (NOW), which states:
No woman will have full equality until all women have full equality, and we must seize every opportunity to ensure equal rights under the law for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Walking with Integrity, the blog of Integrity USA, the Episcopal LGBT advocacy group, announced that the The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force also endorses the march.
The popular blog of Pam Spaulding, Pam’s House Blend … always steamin’, contains a lengthy list of the full slate of activities.
On the other hand, Marc Ambinder reports in the Atlantic Monthly that the event is controversial—not with the religious right but–with others in the LGBT community:
But on Oct. 11, this conservative, measured progress will collide with the National Equality March, a hastily organized gathering of gay-rights supporters on the National Mall. The march, announced just 6 months ago by Harvey Milk protégé and AIDS quilt founder Cleve Jones — has garnered criticism in the gay blogosphere, slammed as a vanity project for Jones and a distraction from state-level gay marriage initiatives in Maine and Washington state. And D.C. advocates are asking why local organizers were not asked to the table so close to the city’s own marriage-rights battle.
