The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Monday that it will embark on a nationwide bus tour to promote LGBT rights by sharing the message of equality with the American public. The “On the Road to Equality” tour is set to visit 17 cities in 11 states and will focus on areas where gay marriage is not yet legal and where protections for LGBT individuals remain minimal or inadequate.
At each tour stop, HRC members and civil rights activists will work together with the local community to hold exhibits featuring educational seminars, workshops and community forums to raise awareness about the challenges facing LGBT people in their quest for equality. In addition to educating the public, the events featured during the tour will aim to empower the gay community to take action by influencing local ordinances and initiatives.
HRC President Joe Solmonese announced Monday that, because the U.S. is on the cusp of a “cultural tipping point”, now is the time for LGBT Americans to take the fight for fair and equal treatment into their own hands.
“…Our job is to push the scale as far and as fast as we can toward fairness,” Solmonese said. “The tour will serve as a powerful visibility tool and support the work of creating real and lasting change in these communities.”
In addition to announcing the upcoming bus tour, the HRC also released the results of a new poll assessing national opinion on LGBT issues. The poll results showed that a promising 79 percent of Americans support non-discrimination protections for LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodation. However, only 51 percent of Americans support marriage equality – a statistic that affirms the HRC’s assertion that a great deal of work remains in order to achieve equality for all LGBT people.
Solomnese said of the results, “The poll shows Americans believe in fairness but also that we have a long way to go in realizing that goal.” He added, “Our efforts on the road this summer and fall are a first step in bridging the gap between where LGBT people are now and achieving the dream of equality to which the vast majority of Americans aspire.”
“On the Road to Equality” kicks off in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 12 and will conclude on October 30 in Orlando, Florida. For a complete list of tour dates and locations, please visit http://www.hrc.org/bustour/media.html.
Nevermind the fact that the gay news media is not consulting any of the LOCAL ACTIVISTS or COMMUNITY-BASED GAY RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS that have been striving at these same efforts from a very local and invested perspective on the issue.
Nevermind the fact that many of these local organizations do not receive ANY assistance from The HRC’s money trucks throughout the year, nor will they receive any assistance after the organization has come in a media firestorm and gone, leaving stringently fostered & maintained policy networks within these communities, regions, and states.
[At each tour stop, HRC members and civil rights activists will work together with the local community to hold exhibits featuring educational seminars, workshops and community forums to raise awareness about the challenges facing LGBT people in their quest for equality. In addition to educating the public, the events featured during the tour will aim to empower the gay community to take action by influencing local ordinances and initiatives.]
You mean like in Louisville, KY where they celebrated 10 years of gay non-discrimination inclusion in the city ordinances as of 2009? You mean like in Lexington, KY where the city just elected its first openly gay mayor? The HRC has no right to come in to local communities and ‘inform’ its GLBT citizens how to think or behave. These communities are strong and active, and have achieved considerably great things given the time and resources that they possess.
Nevermind the fact the AL, KY, & UT to name a few have NO OFFICES or STATE-LEVEL ORGANIZING on the part of the HRC.
[HRC President Joe Solmonese announced Monday that, because the U.S. is on the cusp of a “cultural tipping point”, now is the time for LGBT Americans to take the fight for fair and equal treatment into their own hands.
“…Our job is to push the scale as far and as fast as we can toward fairness,” Solmonese said. “The tour will serve as a powerful visibility tool and support the work of creating real and lasting change in these communities.”]
Nevermind the fact that the University of Louisville has voted to implement gender neutral housing THROUGHOUT campus. Nevermind that the University of Louisville is implementing gender neutral bathrooms, and that the HRC’s presence could agitate backlash in opposition to the efforts undertaken by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance and the existing network of activists, administrators, and public politicians in the region. No, the effort is not to draw gauche amounts of media attention on to yourself, it is to strive for social justice and equality where you can, when you can, and how you can. The reality in these communities and faced by these GLBT citizens of these communities is not that of the HRC, they are not supported in any way by the HRC, and they certainly don’t want the HRC coming in and stirring up negative publicity. LGBT Weekly please consult the local organizations and get the REAL STORY out about why some local, regional, or state organizations would not WANT to HRC to visit their communities and HOW this could be very damaging to the future of GLBT equality in these locations.