The Astounding Cost of Marriage Campaigns

[Mark Daniel Snyder]

During the past two years over $46,000,000 was spent on marriage equality campaigns in Maine and California. There have been 29 other states with marriage initiatives bringing the total amount spent on losing marriage equality campaigns to somewhere around $100,000,000.

Frustrated? You should be. Clearly now is our moment to find a new way to fight for our collective equality and liberation from oppression. Focusing solely on marriage has sidetracked our broader movement to help all of us feel safe and free for the past ten years.

The gay rights leadership has marginalized the immigrants rights movement, womens' rights movement, the transgender community, and beyond, not just by endorsing conservative candidates over their more progressive challengers but by launching expensive campaigns to ensure that all of our focus was on one thing - marriage.

We need to build our movement around a strategy that QueerToday.com activists have been advocating for almost ten years: solidarity with allied social justice movements, prioritizing the most pressing needs in our community, and operating from a place of pride and strength - never shame.

We've seen what happens when we try to hide who we are or operate from a "centrist" point of view. We fail, just like the politicians who ran to the center acting like Republicans failed to win over real Replicans in the most recent election. Without a clear, strong, proud and progressive agenda we will continue to lose and further marginalize ourselves.

The time for queer people to say enough is enough and offer a new direction for the LGBTQ community is NOW.

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