Join the Impact

This Saturday, January 10, I’ll be headed up to Boston to attend a demonstration against the federal “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). It’s one of dozens of demonstrations that will take place across the country, to tell president-elect Barack Obama that he must keep his campaign promises on LGBTQ rights.

“Join the Impact,” the organizers of the demonstration this Saturday, organized a similar protest on November 15, part of a nation-wide series of protests against the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Half a dozen members of Massachusetts’ Congressional delegation attended the November 15 demonstration in Boston, which tells me that they are paying attention to how much public support there is for same-sex marriage rights.

Speaking of the demonstration this Saturday, the organizers write: “This demonstration will ONLY be successful if it rivals the scope and scale of the one in November. We must show lawmakers that November 15th was not a one-time-only event.”

I think that statement is correct. I don’t know what’s going on in your state, but the Massachusetts Congressional delegation is clearly paying attention. There were over 5,000 people in Boston’s City Hall plaza on November 15 — it would be good if we could double that.

For more information, check the national Join the Impact Web site and click on the link for January 10th DOMA protest to find links to what’s happening in your state on Saturday. If you’re in Massachusetts, go to the Mass. Join the Impact Web site, and click through to their Facebook page for the most up-to-date info.