Marriage Equality: We Owe This One to Harvey Milk
Today, the Supreme Court struck down bigotry, and said that justice for all includes justice for gays. This is a beautiful, historic day. Now there is a chance that my eight-year-old twins will grow up in a world without prejudice against gays and lesbians.
It's worth taking a moment to remember who made sacrifices to give us this world, one that is a little more equal and a little more free. It was tens of thousands of activists, from those at Stonewall in 1969, to those who fought for treatment of individuals living with AIDS alongside ACT UP, to the hero of the day, Edith Windsor. But there's one who deserves special mention above all - his name was Harvey Milk, and he had guts.
In 1977, Milk became the first openly-gay elected official in the United States. When he ran for office, America wasn't far removed from the time that Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover were blackmailing and purging homosexuals from the government. Most Americans didn't know or didn't want to know that they knew gay people, that there were gay people in their families. Anti-gay laws were legislated all over the country, and would continue becoming laws, for 30 more years. Legal state-sanctioned gay marriage seemed like an unreachable dream.
But with courage, and love, and guts, Milk acted. He spoke, he agitated, he legislated. He passed a gay rights plank for the City of San Francisco. He hit back against the hate-mongers on the other side. He encouraged gay men and women to run for office, to come out, to be who they are and to love openly whomever they love. He fought for union rights, for women's rights, and against the South African Apartheid government.
Milk knew that we are all in this together, and the movement he helped to lead has continued. Sadly, just 11 months after being elected, Milk was assassinated. Though he is not with us today, Harvey Milk's vision is.
Courage. Guts. Fearlessness. Love.
That's what Milk showed. That's what brought us justice. That's why our world is a little brighter, a little better, today.
Over the next few days, I'm going to be asking for your support. Thousands of you have already given to my campaign.
http://www.CongressmanWithGuts.com
You have showed that you want a world of equality, of love, of human dignity, and that you will join me in working to achieve it.
http://www.CongressmanWithGuts.com
I'm going to continue fighting for justice, equality, and peace, for the common good, against spying, against secret corporate trade agreements, for Medicare and Social Security, and for all of us.
Change is possible. We saw it happen today. Harvey Milk never saw the justice handed down by the Court. But he knew justice was coming, when he started his campaign for equality. He said, "Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice." And that's what he did.
That's what we're doing. It doesn't matter what you look like, where you’re from, what language you speak, or whom you love. Each of us deserves life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere.
http://www.CongressmanWithGuts.com
Courage,
Congressman Alan Grayson
"All young people, regardless of sexual identity or orientation, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential." - Harvey Milk
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we have had Obama as our President these last years.. being such an advocate for the GLBT Community. 
As always, thank you for all you do! 
