So what IS the Next Step in the Gay Movement?

I just read a great article on Queerty about what does the future of the gay movement look like and who is going to lead it. The answer the story puts forward is "YOU." This could not be more true. This movement is going to need all the help that it can get and the ideas of everyone willing to offer them up. This article discusses the next move that Equality California will take bring over Marc Solomon who argued for marriage eqaulity with MassEquality. He will be setting up shop in Los Angeles and running the next push to repeal Prop.8.

But the more interesting part of the article discusses the fight beyond marriage eqaulity and even further beyond just LGBT rights. It was announced yesterday that HRC will be sponsering Campaign Courages upcoming "Camp Courage" grassroots training programs. This organization is not strictly LGBT and anything else for that matter. It's goal is to give people, all people, the tools they need in order to join in the fight for eqaulity for all people.

This is what I was really relieved to finally hear from someone on the gay blogisphere. And Japhy Grant could not have said it any better.

"I believe that the gay rights movement is larger than just gay rights. We must move beyond the petty battles of identity politics and embrace our role as part of a larger progressive movement. You can not care about gay rights without caring about the issues of poverty, race, education and social justice that beset this country, because without making progress on those problems, we will never make progress on our own.

We are all aware that the world is undergoing rapid change. None of us live in a vacuum and the time has come for us to stop thinking about ourselves as a gay rights movement and begin thinking of ourselves as an equal rights movement. Equality is not just about equal rights for ourselves, but equal rights for all. The way forward will require us to be smarter then we've been, no question about it, but it will also require us to take a broader view of who we are and what we want. If we wish to weave our lives into the fabric of America, we have to weave our movement into the broader tapestry as well."

Full article.