Back in June when the historic Supreme Court decision was released, there were some grumblings among trans and queer activists. They wondered (and still do perhaps) why there was so much attention on a right to marry, when that right affects only a portion of the entire LGBTQ community. Some suggested this was a concerted effort to benefit those with privilege. Truly, nothing could be further from the truth. In these claims/complaints are a few flawed arguments. I’ve thought for some time about writing this post, and was again reminded of t as Pittsburgh City Council announced it was honoring Evan Wolfson who was the mind and energy behind the Freedom to Marry campaign.

1. Marriage Equality didn’t really happen quickly at all, and those who think it did are failing to see the very long history of efforts towards this end goal. I’ve been aware of people seeking marriage licenses, even though they knew they would be turned away ( a form of activism) going back to the mid-80’s. Marriage Equality and activists working for it, have been doing the hard work for a very long time. As it happened, their hard work and slow ongoing progress aligned with social awareness and the time was right.
2. Marriage Equality was an issue that was fairly easy to message. After some failures (such as Prop 8 passing in California), the way to educate the American public about why a right to marry was important became evident, and the hard work was simply doing that educational work. Few if any other issues affecting the LGBTQ community as a whole are are clear cut from a message perspective, and that makes other issues more complicated to gain progress.
3. Marriage Equality was a move for something (a right to civil marriage) and included pointing out how state laws and statutes discriminate against same-sex couples. This marriage (pun intended) of fighting for something and bringing awareness to discrimination was unique to this issue. And, what a civil marriage license means–what marriage means, is something most everyone can relate to.
4. Evan Wolfson developed a comprehensive strategy for winning the right to marry, ad then set out to accomplish that strategy. Such a documented, thought out plan doesn’t exist for any other issue facing the whole LGBTQ or even parts of the rainbow coalition. This plan was essential, and if we could develop such a plan for other issues and problems, we could see successes with other issues as well.
5. The right to marry improves the lives of all LGBTQ persons regardless of their relational status, and it assists all LGBTQ persons who are responsible for families. This includes more than persons of privilege, and encompasses everyone.
6. The judicial system played a crucial role in the process towards marriage equality. For many other LGBTQ issues, most emphasis is placed upon cultural and legislative efforts. These are highly important, but when coupled with judicial efforts more can be achieved. Strategists need to think about how to employ the judicial process for other issues affecting the LGBTQ community.