Comments on: Equality March: Cleve Jones http://www.365gay.com/video/equality-march-cleve-jones/ The daily news source for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:11:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Gerry Fisher http://www.365gay.com/video/equality-march-cleve-jones/comment-page-1/#comment-74467 Gerry Fisher Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:44:00 +0000 http://www.365gay.com/?p=10185#comment-74467 Most of this speech was excellent. However, there was one point, I think, that illustrates the disrespect I alluded to between the grass-roots & street-level activists versus the people who work hard to craft and pass federal legislation. Clive was talking about specific events in the past few decades during which time he felt that a new wave of broad activism would sprout up, but the activism ended up petering out shortly thereafter. One of the examples he used was the murder of Mathew Shepard. Did the Mathew Shepard murder herald in the birth of a new wave of activism the way Clive wanted? No. However, it *did* kick off a decade of very, very hard work, much of it by Judy Shepard, that is culminating in the signing of the LGBT-inclusive hate crimes act that's happening this month! The lobbying, creation of, and passing of this bill into law isn't splashy. It's not sexy. It won't get a fancy label line Stonewall 2.0. But it's a *decade* of very hard work, and the law will make a significant difference in the ability of law enforcement and the courts to do their part in curbing hate-fueled crimes, like the one that killed Mathew. It's this kind of sniffing disrespect of the traditional legislative process that needs to stop. Grass roots groups, street level groups, and those working in the system to pass bills into law need to respect each other and work *together*. I dare *anyone* to go up to Judy Shepard and suggest that the new hate crimes law is not a significant moment in gay history. She put blood, sweat, and tears into that law for a decade. I dare you to disrespect or be dismissive of that! Most of this speech was excellent. However, there was one point, I think, that illustrates the disrespect I alluded to between the grass-roots & street-level activists versus the people who work hard to craft and pass federal legislation.

Clive was talking about specific events in the past few decades during which time he felt that a new wave of broad activism would sprout up, but the activism ended up petering out shortly thereafter. One of the examples he used was the murder of Mathew Shepard.

Did the Mathew Shepard murder herald in the birth of a new wave of activism the way Clive wanted? No. However, it *did* kick off a decade of very, very hard work, much of it by Judy Shepard, that is culminating in the signing of the LGBT-inclusive hate crimes act that’s happening this month!

The lobbying, creation of, and passing of this bill into law isn’t splashy. It’s not sexy. It won’t get a fancy label line Stonewall 2.0. But it’s a *decade* of very hard work, and the law will make a significant difference in the ability of law enforcement and the courts to do their part in curbing hate-fueled crimes, like the one that killed Mathew.

It’s this kind of sniffing disrespect of the traditional legislative process that needs to stop. Grass roots groups, street level groups, and those working in the system to pass bills into law need to respect each other and work *together*.

I dare *anyone* to go up to Judy Shepard and suggest that the new hate crimes law is not a significant moment in gay history. She put blood, sweat, and tears into that law for a decade. I dare you to disrespect or be dismissive of that!

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