297,937 in Maine
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 4:01PM
Yesterday, 297,937 people who hate us went to the polls in Maine and voted to take our rights away.
297,937 people told 2000 couples in Maine: "You are not good enough to get married."
297,937 people told 600 households with children: "You should not have a family."
But are you really surprised we lost? When people are physically attacked across the US for being gay -- ONCE AN HOUR? Are you surprised 297,937 people instead bashed us on a ballot?
So, now what do we do? We stand taller. Speak louder. Be prouder. Love harder. And fight until every single one of us is equal.
46 years ago, on the same land where 200,000 of us just marched for LGBT Equality, Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
One of the people who watched MLK's speech on TV that night was my grandma. She's almost 80 years old and lives in Cape Elizabeth, right near Portland.
Yesterday, she voted NO on Prop 1. She stood up for Equality. She marked her ballot for her grandson.
You have the power to change minds, and change votes. Just by being open about who you are.
Stand tall. Be proud. Speak out. Demand Equality.
Learn what you can do -- one e-mail per week -- and join this crucial fight.
Love. Pride. Equality.