Sober Moment 10.13.09: The National Equality March in Washington, DC (10.11.09)

Grrber emailed me on Saturday: “Do you want to get up at 5am tomorrow and go? I’m on the fence, there’s something in my head that keeps nagging me to go, it’s our responsibility. I signed up for 2 spots on the bus [if you’re] interested?” He had some friends going down on Saturday, but they wanted to get a $250 room and rent a $300 car. Grrber's suggestion would be free through Broadway Impact (a division of Broadway Cares). It was an easy decision.

And then Grrber lost his phone.

After getting about 4.5 hours of sleep (and we didn’t even go out on Saturday night!), we dragged our asses to Hell’s Kitchen. Of course, we forgot to account for the fact that trains were still on a late night schedule at 5:15am, and we got off the subway with 5 minutes to make our 6am deadline. Why they boarded the busses 3 avenues from the subway is a mystery to me, but we were checked in by a cutie that I recognized from my gym.

We didn’t actually leave until about 6:30. Grrber and I chowed down on Teddy Grahams (cannibalism?) and protein bars before cuddling up for a nap in the back seat. Fortunately, I managed to sleep through the Jersey Turnpike, waking up just before the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

“Why are we stopping at the toll booth? Is there a problem with the EZPass? Is there an EZPass? Well, I guess you get what you pay for.”

I got worried when we exited I95 shortly after entering Delaware. Traffic lights and corn fields were involved, but surprisingly, we still made it to DC in about 4 hours.

About an hour outside of DC, our bus leaders announced that they'd be doing activities. I was worried: . o O (Y’all made me get up at 4:45 in the damn morning. Y’all better not want me to sing!) First, there was a raffle. For some reason, the female bus leader gave me, Grrber and the pair of gays in front of us two tickets instead of 1. There were some pretty cool prizes (including the Shirtless Mormon calendar… too bad it was ’09). Here’s what I won.

Then my other number got called so I "won" yet another bottle of Alan Cummings' lotion with accompanying bar of soap. Grrber laughed until his two numbers got called for the same prize.

Next, they showed a DVD with Kathy Griffin and Ellen DeGeneres talking about gay bashing incidents like Matthew Shepard and the 8 year old who was killed by a classmate because he asked him to be his Valentine. Then they played über-gay music until we arrived at Union Station (including Halo/Walking on Sunshine from Glee… can we have a short conversation about the A that Lea Michele hits at the end!).

“You two were so cute when you were sleeping earlier!” yelled the female bus leader from halfway down the aisle, causing the whole bus to look back at Grrber and me. “I wanted to take a picture of you guys, but I didn’t have your permission.” So much for getting some side action on this trip.

Did I mention the march was supposed to be over two miles?! Because no one mentioned that to me! Thank god I wore flats.

We got separated from most of the Broadway Impact people on the Metro, but we caught up with them at our meeting spot near the start of the march.

Some of my favorite people don’t have their Equity cards!

While we were waiting to move, a truck came by with some rather hateful messages with scripture quoted on it.

It was really great to see the straight ally and the gay man dancing in front of the hate-mobile. Another gay man came up and started making out with him (not sure if they knew each other or not). Then the other guy kicked the side of the truck. Not cool, dude.

We soon moved to a new holding area to wait for the march to commence. I heard quite a bit of commotion to my left. “Here go the crazy Christians,” Grrber growled, pointing to a group by the side of the road with signs.

The scripture quoted on the “You will eat your babies” sign is from Leviticus 26:29. This is a book that also has a lot to say about women’s periods and “discharges”. When’s the last time you heard of someone sacrificing 2 young pigeons when they got the clap?

The next commotion happened to my right: “Oh my god, it’s… her! That woman from Sex and the City! The sarcastic one… Miranda!”

Turns out she has a name in real life, too. Thank god for signs.

Once the march started, there was electricity in the air. People bonded over laughing at signs and screaming out chants.

“Obama! Obama! Let mama marry mama!”

“Hey, hey! Ho ho! Homophobia’s got to go!”

“What do we want?” “Equal rights!” “When do we want ‘em!” “Now!” (“Yesterday!”)

And of course, just as expected, there were hustlers all over the place looking to make a buck from the march.

Bullhorn: “Excuse me, sir! With the shopping cart of pretzels: can you please move out of the marching area!

One of the most memorable parts of the march was seeing rainbow flags in front of the White House. Not that President Obama was around, but it was a powerful image.

The tension really started to build when the Capitol building came into view as we were marching up Pennsylvania Avenue.

It seemed like the chants got louder and came more frequently the closer we got to the Capitol. The Gay Men’s Chorus of DC was performing an uplifting medly when we arrived. There was already a huge crowd on the lawn and throngs of people behind us, but Grrber and I managed to find a spot in the shade with a pretty good view.

Grrber complained that the speeches weren’t really that earth-shattering. In some ways, I had to agree. I feel like many people were asked to speak because they were chair of this or president of that. Also, they probably don’t have the budget for a speech writing team or as many opportunities to speak as the orators we’ve been moved by in the recent past.

But outside of the courtesy speeches, I felt like there were many highlights: Lt. Dan Choi, Lady Gaga, and two of the younger speakers (one of whom, I believe, was a national Forensics [i.e., speech and debate] champion). Speaker Christine Quinn of New York City, however, was especially memorable, especially when she said that she’d like to see any one of the anti-gay legislators look her in the eye and tell her that she’s less of a citizen/American/human being like their laws were saying. Also, I had to bust out laughing when Falls Church city council member Lawrence Webb introduced himself as “Virginia’s first openly black gay man,” rather than “elected official”. And then there was Billie Myers' performance of "A-me-ree-ca the Beautiful" (with the lyrics written down!!).

"I don't know her, but she's black with a British accent. Is it wrong if I just say it was Scary Spice?"

Of course, Lady Gaga got the loudest applause (at least from where I was sitting), and of course, there was a mass exodus after she spoke. Grrber and I stayed for a few more speakers before we caught a train to Dupont Circle for dinner and drinks at Annie’s (my steak was criminally overdone, but the scene was cute). We stopped by JR’s for a drink, but just like Inauguration weekend, it was backed to the gills (and not all that good looking either). Our whole bus actually ended up getting back early, and we got back to New York just after midnight.

Gay Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts dismissed the March as “a waste of time at best,” and suggests that the best way to get things done is to write congressmen on professional letterhead. While I agree that that is the best direct course of action, a rally like this brings attention to our cause. Someone flipping through channels may stop on C-Span to catch an inspiring speech. A kid in Iowa sees tens of thousands of gays rallying behind a cause and realizes he’s not alone. Gays come back to their home states and talk to their friends, inspired with new resolve to take action. The March won’t put congress’s pen to paper directly, but the ripple effect of this kind of action is boundless. Think about how many new email addresses Broadway Impact alone gathered. That will without a doubt come in handy when they’re ready to distribute follow-up information.

Click here to check out more photos (including hilarious signs) on Facebook. Add me to see the album. I promise I won't clog up your news feed.

And click here to check out selected speeches from the March, care of Inside, Looking Out.