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A few weeks ago, I posted a poll on my blog, asking, What have you done for LGBT rights? This isn’t a very scientific poll, nor should sweeping generalizations be made based on these results, but the results are interesting and do suggest some ideas about what we need to be doing- that is, any of us who are interested in gaining full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trangender, and queer persons. If you are one of the persons who completed my poll or if you publicized the poll via Twitter or your blog, Thank-you!

I hope to post a poll every week or so as a way to generate some discussion, as well as to receive feedback from my blog readers. I hope that you will leave your comments below about this poll and its results. If you have questions you would like to see asked, let me know. This was my second poll. The first received very few hits, so if you didn’t complete it, please do. The First poll asked “What stops you from being more of an activist?” It would be interesting to consider those results in relation to this poll’s results.

There were 211 replies completed the poll. I allowed individuals to select more than 1 option, but I’m not sure how many actual people chose 2 or more items.There were a few surprises for me in the results and some confirmations of ideas I held in my head. That is- as much as such a small sampling could suggest trends and intentions.

Top votes:

Three tasks topped the list, and these were no surprise:

• Vote for pro-equality candidates and issues
• Signed an internet petition/internet blast email
• Sent an email to your elected official

Most of us have grown up equating the act of voting with the process of democracy, and following last November’s election, it isn’t a surprise. Yes, yes, yes- we need to always vote for pro-equality candidates. Very little else matters, if, in a democracy, we are not all free and equal, so In my opinion, no issue takes precedence over being pro-equality for everyone. The other two are not a surprise, as anyone taking the poll was doing it on-line and tasks like this are in the comfort zone.

Out of the closet:

• Come out to your family
• Come out to your friends
• Come out at work

I broke these three out as separate tasks intentionally, and the results were just what I expected. More people were out to their friends, and less to family, and even less out at work. The number of votes for “come out at work” was about half as the number of votes for “vote for a pro-equality candidate.” Voting is so private, and being out at work is probably the visible action of all. But all three levels of being out were in the middle of the voting spread.

It would be easy to say that this- being out- is the key to success. If everyone was out, what a difference it would make! But that said, it is still legal to fire someone for being gay, so there are real reasons why people aren’t out.

Being a part of the group

With each receiving votes, right in the middle, the three tasks that are about joining and being “in community.”

• Attended a gay pride
• Marched/attended a rally
• Joined an organization

These three are, generally speaking, all about getting into our comfort zone. There is safety in numbers, right? Although the number of people voting for one of these options was only about 60% of those who took action on-line. I find these types of actions extremely important because they “feed” a person; they energize you and motivate you, and remind you that you are not alone. But these actions in and of themselves won’t change our current reality. If 1000 persons or 100,000 persons are in a march, the laws don’t just change. Thew march has to ac t as a motivator so that the 1,000 or 100,000 go home from the march and keep taking actions including engaging their elected officials.

Other (see below)

There were three entries for “other,” and each is very interesting. They were:

• Told my daughter I love her and support her.
• Talk about my life as if being gay is a given, not something to apologize for.
• Wrote a marriage equality novel.

All three are great ideas and good messages! For me the second, is very related to the “being out” section above. The more each of us do this- treat our lives as a given, that they are just the way they are intended to be- the more others will begin to see it that way. Giving and receiving love and support are good for everyone, and writing a novel is a great way to place our experiences into the context of real life.

Taking Action

There were 4 choices that received the least number of votes, yet are the choices that could actually accomplish the most amount of good. In an ideal world, we might think that voting for someone who is pro-equality should be enough. But it isn’t because “we” as a voting block are small in comparison to the conservative block. We are less than 15% and the conservative block is about 43%. So, the best strategy for us is to work with two groups of people: our elected officials since they are the ones who have the real authority to make legislation happen, and our friends and neighbors, since they may be people who can vote with us so that the vote for equality is greater than the vote against equality.

• Called your elected official
• Sent a snail mail letter/card to your elected official
• Had a meeting with your elected official
• Done door to door canvasing

The single most important item on the entire list was “Had a meeting with your elected official,” because when meeting with your elected official you have the ability to put a real face and life story to the issue of equality. You have an opportunity to educate your elected official, as well as answer questions that s/he may have about whatever legislation is most meaningful to you. On the poll, only 3 replies for this option compared to 24 for voting. Only 3!! I can assure you that if we increased the number of GLBTQ constituents who sat down with their elect3ed official 8 fold, we would see laws changing right and left, especially at the state or local level! The next best thing to a meeting is a personal letter sent via snail mail. Emails may not get read, or maybe simply counted. but a personal letter will be read every time. Go low tech- send a letter, and sit down for a meeting– these things can make a huge difference.

Well, that’s my analysis of the results. What do you think? Chime in with your ideas and opinions! Again, this is a very small sampling and not a scientific poll at all, but still useful information.

Poll Results