With Each Lawmaker, A Conversation

The Hudson River glistened in the noonday sun, as we took serpentine roads to Ossining, NY. We, the activist storm troopers, thought that the way to Assemblywoman Galef’s office would be highway to main thoroughfares to the doorstep of the office of representative democracy. Instead, small-town country roads took us past flowerbox-accented houses, and a gilded sign indicating that we had entered the idyllic New York hamlet. With haste, attired in pastel professionalism, we arrived at the district office much later than had been expected; we were late.

With a flurry we entered Assemblywoman Galef’s office where she greeted us individually, and then she ushered us into her conference room. We began asking Galef about her vote in the negative for the marriage equality bill that passed the Assembly with a slim majority. She informed us that she conducted a poll on the issue in her district, and received an unprecedented response. Much to her surprise, most of her constituents favored civil unions for same-gendered couples, but only about 30% endorsed marriage equality. Therefore, given the outpouring of support for the civil union option, Galef voted her constituents and gave her personal veto to the legislation.

We informed Galef that there are 250,000 children living in same-gender parented households according to the 2000 US Census, and enjoined her to advocate for marriage equality which is the only option legally, socially, and symbolically which can deliver well over 1300 benefits and protections to these families. Moreover, in the face of opposition to marriage equality in her district, we reminded Galef that a vote for marriage equality is morally imperative and politically advantageous. The former, because many civil rights decisions were made in the face of public dissent, e.g., the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loving v. Virginia, when 70% of America’s populace disapproved, to strike down the ban on interracial marriage. The latter, because no candidate in Massachusetts who voted in favor of marriage equality, where marriage equality is now legal, was unseated, and many who opposed marriage equality were unseated by challengers who supported it. In addition to sharing personal stories and explaining the important differences between a civil union and marriage, we snapped a picture and left our first meeting on the Right to Marry Campaign. We concluded that Galef was at the same time well-intentioned concerning the needs of the bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender community (BGLT), but uninformed about the inferiority of the potpourri of parallel, non-marriage legal statuses vis-à-vis civil marriage. However, we were excited about having had such an engagement with the Assemblywoman, that the needs of the BGLT community were made clear to her so that she will be prepared to vote in favor of marriage equality should such legislation be proposed to the Assembly again.

More than anything, we were affirmed in the necessity of our mission, namely, that marriage equality is about the defense of our humanity and the advocacy of our community’s equality in America. In every conversation that we have, whether with a representative or a constituent, we are confident that, by the banks of the Hudson, more people will be informed about this weighty civil rights decision and support marriage equality.

You can discuss this blog post and more in the Soulforce Forums.