day 3: enough is enough

Links of the day:

-Anti-8 protesters were allegedly beaten and arrested in West Hollywood. I say "alleged" because I don't know the details, but there is photographic evidence.

-The Bilerico Project has a collection of links, including Melissa Etheridge's refusal to pay state taxes and accounts of racism at anti-8 protests.

-Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out has written an excellent column about that racism.

In another Bilerico Project post, the question of why gay Americans apparently were more supportive of John Kerry than of Barack Obama led me to write this letter, which I sent to the Democratic Party:

I'm leaving the party for a third party shortly, and I wanted to comment as to why.

I'm gay, and as long as I have been involved in politics, every election, one theme has been consistent: the party leadership and the mainstream candidates have been careful to avoid fully supporting my rights. They say that supporting gay rights is political suicide, that we'll just have to wait our turn.

Last night I read a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: "This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'" And looking at how the only major area of failure for progressive values this election was gay issues, it's become clear to me that his words hold true for my struggle as well.

I will no longer wait.

I know that this message will never reach the leaders of what I once considered my party, but I need to write it. Because it's important that it be recorded why I've jumped ship.

EDIT TO ADD one more link: EQCA wants people to sign a petition saying "I demand my equality back. I commit to getting marriage equality back on the ballot if we don't win in court." Pass the word.