Subscribe to Breaking NewsLowenstein: CA Activists “Meet in the Middle 4 Equality”
Little money or time was spent during the campaign against Proposition 8 on trying to persuade voters in California to change their minds. The lion’s share of the campaign’s resources were spend identifying voters who were already pro-equality and then making sure they turned out to vote on Election Day.
That strategy, it turned out, fell just short of victory, as we all witnessed last Election Day.
Now, some groups in California have changed their tactics. Rather than just trying to turn out more voters who already believe in marriage equality than the other side does, some activists are taking on the infinitely more difficult task of trying to change hearts and minds. Vote For Equality, an organization that is a project of the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, has been doing persuastion work (successfully) since the results came in on Election Day, and this past weekend, the Courage Campaign joined their efforts.
The Courage Campaign organized a Saturday rally in Fresno, California that they called “Meet in the Middle 4 Equality.” Meet in the Middle was designed to show that support for marriage equality in California isn’t limited just to the Castro and West Hollywood neighborhoods. Equality will be won by rallying support in towns, like Fresno, CA, that didn’t vote against Prop 8 last time but could be convinced to in the future by brave activists willing to have person to person conversations about why marriage equality is important to them.
By all accounts, Meet in the Middle was a great success, with thousands of pro-equality voters pouring in from around the state to demonstrate their support for a new ballot initiative in 2010 that would overturn Prop 8.
One city down, thousands to go.
We need more of this. Most importantly we need to see our children and families. the anti same sex marriage movement worked on fears stoked with images of straight families “confused” children. Well it’s time we saw and heard from the children of gays and lesbians who are confused and un-protected by their families second class citizenship. In an ideal world we would be able to change hearts and minds based on the injustice to queer individuals, but sadly to change the minds of straights we might just need to show them how our sometimes queer sometimes not families are being hurt by their hatred.
And the wonderful Meet in the Middle march and rally would never have happened without local people, like Robin McGehee. People like Robin live where the majority of voters do not approve of equality for GLBT people. We must take the facts (as opposed to othe lies in the many adds of those who supported Proposition
to people who live in areas like Fresno, the fifth largest city in California. GLBT leadership, regardless of the organization or the good intentions must stop thinking everything centers around such areas as Westlake, West Hollywood, Palm Springs, and San Francisco. The many people from out of the Central Valley came to join us who live in the Central Valley and the beginning of something wonderful was begun.
Okay. My idea of “meet in the middle” on this issue would be gays saying, “Okay. You let us marry, and we’ll let you live.”
I understand why there going to The central valley in California. But they should start looking next door 30 mins away from LA county to san bernardino this county voted yes by 75 %. I keep on hearing and going to other websites how there saying that fresno is the place to win. I say wrong this is the 2 biggest county in the US and has over 600,000 votes.
You can hate homosexuals, but you cannot hate the man who helps your child pass algebra or the woman who treats your child for asthma. When the GLBT community in California, gets out and works with people who need assistance, then the great bugaboo of homosexuality will become less fearsome for them. Especially in this grim economic period, we, as a community, have a change to reach out and help others – and win their understanding and support.