Wonderful segment on the state of the LGBT movement from InTheLife Media.   The clear and emerging stars of this segment (and  rising stars of our movement) are Robin  McGehee, Director of GetEqual, John Aravosis, Founder of AmericaBlog,  and Richard Socarides, former Clinton LGBT Advisor.  Thank you for all that you do to make our movement stronger with your voices.

HatTip: Gay Rights Media:

“We’re willing to take action and it may be non-traditional action. We’re tired of the lobbying and the phone banking and the letter writing that doesn’t seem to be getting the progress and the rights that we are deserving of. Many of our members have tried that method. What I think that’s going on with the national organizations is the understanding that they are serving in the suites of power but the streets of activism are tired and fed up. The people that try to offer that ‘change is coming’ and ‘we’re seeing progress’ are happy with minimal change and crumbs in my opinion. Even at the national dinner for the Human Rights Campaign [President Obama] made the statement that ‘We’re friends aren’t we?’ I’m not asking him to do something that he didn’t let come out of his own lips. I’m wanting him to be held accountable on the things that he’s already promised us. That same accountability goes to the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and anyone who walks into a meeting with him. When they accept the minimal change and the crumbs what they’re actually doing is simply barely feeding a person who’s already starving from injustice.” ~Robin McGehee, Co-Founder of @GetEQUAL

“I think they kind of think that they sort of met their gay quota because they did Hate Crimes. Come November, it’s over. There’s talk of losing the House in the November Congressional elections. And look at how hard it is to get this passed now. We don’t even have a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell passed. Imagine what’s going to happen if we lose twenty or thirty or forty more Democrats. And we’re supposed to sit back and just wait. Well I’ve got news for you, our community’s got about two or three months left, before the Obama era becomes, I think, a bust. We’re going to lose the Congress, we’re going to lose enough seats that it’s just not going to matter.” ~John @Aravosis, Editor of @AMERICAblog

“The Congress of the United States, the Presidency of the Unites States – they’ve been passively denying us our rights for centuries and actively denying us our rights for decades. It’s time for that to stop but we need to put our foot down.” ~@MaraKeisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality