National March on Washington set for October 10-11, 2009

June 13, 6:45 PMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

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         Part of the crowd at the 2000 Millenium March

Despite reports to the contrary, the National March for Equality will go on as planned, according to event organizer and LGBT activist Cleve Jones. 

Blogger JoeMyGod reported earlier this week that march organizers were unable to get a permit for Columbus Day weekend, because they had not applied one a year in advance, and because three other events - a breast cancer walk-a-thon, a Treasury Department event, and the Million Man March for God - were also taking place in D.C. that weekend.

However, yesterday Joe quoted Jones as saying. "We have the permit. The march on Washington is definitely on." 

Jones said march organizers have a permit for the West Lawn of the Capitol, the same spot where the inauguration of President Obama took place in January. 

Referring to the administration's recent actions that broke promises to LGBT people on DADT and DOMA, Jones said, "It's so clear that Obama and the Democratic leadership are turning their backs on us. If we don't go for it now, we'll get nothing. It's beginning to smell a lot like Clinton."

Jones said, "We've been getting nothing but complete cooperation from all the authorities - the DC police, the mayor, the Parks Service. They told us, 'Go ahead, you've got it. Put the word out.' They are happy to work with us and are expecting a lot of people."

He also added that there was no Million Man March for God or Treasury Department event scheduled that weekend.  He said the annual breast cancer walk-a-thon is planned, but he expected full cooperation from them because they have "worked side-by-side with him many times in previous years when their events coincided with National Mall displays by the NAMES Project"

This will be the fifth march on Washington for LGBT rights.  The first was in 1979 and drew 75,000 people.  The second, in 1987, drew half a million and was a reaction to the Reagan administration's lack of action on HIV/AIDS.  The NAMES project AIDS Memorial Quilt (an idea conceived by Jones) was displayed for the first time during that march.  The third march in 1993 and the Millenium March in 2000 drew a million people each.

This year's march has been the target of strong opposition in the LGBT community, particularly from Bilerco Project blogger Bil Browning, who was one of the first to claim that Jones and march organizers had been denied a permit.  Browning also criticized the timing of the march, saying Congress isn't in session on October 11th, five months was not long enough to organize such a large event, the focus on Prop 8 was misplaced and too narrow, and attending the event will prove too expensive for most LGBT Americans in this poor economy.

Jones repsponded to Browning's criticisms, saying, "It's a three day weekend, it's easier to travel, and the weather is usually very good. That's why previous marches have taken place on that weekend. Much has been said about Congress not being in session on that week and that's why we are organizing this march at the congressional district level. This is not a march as we've seen in the past. It's an organizing tool to build a national network of grassroots activists." Jones estimated that "most people on the West coast will be able to come to this march for less than $700."

As for the focus of the march, Jones said that it is not just about Prop 8.  To the contrary, he said, "Many of the the people opposing this march are the same people pushing for a repeal of Prop 8 in 2010." Jones questioned the wisdom of continuing to fight local battles for LGBT rights, saying, "It's just an endless state by state, city by city, county by county battle could go on for decades at enormous cost. But if we could shift our focus and seize this historic moment and get federal legislation, get SCOTUS [on our side], we could end it all at the federal level. People in leadership seem so invested in an incredibly long, local level, deeply impermanent struggle."

Here is the official National Equality March message:

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