Driving Equality

Day 5

John Denver sang:

“Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads”

We spent the day in West Virginia driving through the winding mountainous country roads searching for someone to interview. We were able to get in touch with Scott from Fairness West Virginia who made some magic happen and hooked us up with Coy Flowers. Coy is an openly gay doctor in rural West Virginia. He took time out of his busy day to sit down with us for an interview at the Greenbrier Medical Center. Coy is a board member of Fairness West Virginia and an outspoken advocate for LGBT equality. This state lacks protects for LGBT workers, doesn’t have an inclusive hate-crimes law, and won’t allow Coy and his partner to marry. Yet, there is progress being made. The West Virginia legislature came close to passing a workplace nondiscrimination law this year, and will take it up again next year. Coy and his parter have a three year old child and live their lives openly and honestly. I believe he is right when he said that living openly, being out, is the way that West Virginians, and all of us, will win our battle for equality.

We had an interesting mishap last night. While posting to this blog, I had my computer plugged in and drained the car battery. We had to call AAA to get a jump start. (Thanks Uncle Ricky!!) Then we left Virginia and headed into West Virginia. We pulled off the highway and slept in a parking lot right over the state line. We have been driving through the mountains all day. Our interview with Coy was the highlight of the day, but we also met a wonderful woman in the parking lot at Coy’s office.

She was a retired military woman who saw us filming at the van and wanted to know what we were up to. We told her about Driving Equality and asked her what she felt about LGBT rights. She mentioned that she had gays friends in the military and that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was ridiculous. She also told us about her friend who was a teacher until he was fired for being gay. 

Now we are parked in a rest area, taking a break, before we drive to Louisville, Kentucky where we have an interview set up for tomorrow. 

If you like what we are doing, please make a contribution to keep us on the road.

Day 4

Thomas Jefferson famously wrote in the Declaration in Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Jefferson chose Charlottesville, Virginia to build his storied home, Monticello. I can see why. We had a great time in Charlottesville! It is a beautiful city with a vibrant community. We spent the night at a campground outside of the city. For breakfast we went to IHOP and had “all you can eat” pancakes. After breakfast we had some time to work on setting up future interviews. We hope to meet with some folks in West Virginia tomorrow. 

We filmed a great discussion tonight with some of Charlottesville’s local LGBT leaders. We talked about Virginia’s lack of workplace anti-discrimination laws and a recent anti-gay hate-crime that took place in the city. Virginia does not have a hate-crimes law that protects LGBT people.

There is progress being made in this state though. We spoke with a straight ally who works with religious communities to advance queer equality. We also met with a woman (the local Join The Impact organizer!) who organized a “marriage-in” at the Charlottesville City Hall on Valentine’s Day. Same-sex couples took to City Hall and requested marriage licenses from the clerk. They were denied, but kept the event fun with chocolates for the city workers. 

Special thanks to Ed for inviting us to Charlottesville and putting this event together. Also, thanks to David and the Virginia Film Festival for allowing us to use the great space. We are leaving town with a wonderful impression of Charlottesville. The people of Virginia deserve, and will have, full equality. 

Onward to West Virginia!

If you like what we are doing, please make a contribution to keep us on the road.

Day 3

We are in Richmond, Virginia. This morning we left Washington DC and headed out to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. We drove through the mountains and soaked in the beautiful scenery. It was an amazing drive, but the van had a hard time making it down the mountain. I need to get the breaks checked tomorrow. 

Then we drove to Richmond to sit down with some folks from Equality Virginia (EV). We had a great conversation about the progress being made in their state. They are working on a bill that would ban discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace. Many people just don’t know that gays and lesbians can be fired from their jobs simply for being who they are. The folks at EV are great and are doing amazing work. It was an honor to meet with them.

We also met a great guy working with the Virginia Join the Impact group. That was fun for me since I’m a co-chair of Join The Impact MA. We talked shop for a while and he agreed to be on camera. The interviews are going well. We are quickly learning to use the equipment, while making only minor mistakes….I hope.

Special shout out to our new friend Mayme. She just started blogging on a new website for LGBT Virginians, GayRVA.com. Check out the site and send some love her way. 

Tomorrow we head to Charlottesville , VA to meet with some more Virginians! 

Day 2

We didn’t quite make it to Washington DC last night, as we got a late start and I needed to stop driving around 2:30AM. We pulled off the highway about an hour outside of the capital and slept in the van at a gas station. We still have a lot of organizing to do, so sleeping in the van was not all that comfortable. But we were very tired and feel asleep pretty quickly. In the morning we woke up and headed into the city. The traffic was terrible, but we made it to our first interview at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). 

We met with Marty Rouse, the National Field Director of HRC and Jeremy Pittman, the Deputy Field Director. I worked with both Marty and Jeremy at MassEquality during the height of the marriage battle in Massachusetts. Marty hired me in 2004 to help with electoral organizing after I ran a campaign for a candidate running for State Representative in central Massachusetts. I remember when he asked me to come into Boston to meet with him at MassEquality headquarters. I was so excited. We sat in his office, overlooking the gold dome of the State House, and he interviewed me for a place on the MassEquality team. He told me that the LGBT movement needed future leaders to emerge and that he saw me as a possible candidate. Then he asked me what I saw myself doing in five years. I told him that I was not sure, but that I wanted to become a part of this movement for equality. That was five years ago.

We conducted interviews with both Marty and Jeremy and then toured the huge HRC building. The interviews went well, as both Marty and Jeremy are amazing speakers and down-to-earth people.  I could not have asked for a better start to the project. We got a better understanding of the fight for LGBT equality on a national level and on a state-to-state basis. We talked about the disparities between the states and what is happening in different parts of the country. 

Tomorrow we are heading to Virginia!

If you like what we are doing, please make a contribution to keep us on the road.

Day 1

After a long day of packing the van, we are on the road headed to Washington DC. We’re about halfway and making good time. The van is running well, but it’s a beast to drive. We stopped at a rest area earlier and I took a quick nap in the back of the van wedged in between camping gear and film equipment. My teammate, the other Chris (Potter), spent the time at the rest area talking to a fellow traveler about social justice and Driving Equality. We hope to make it to DC before sunrise. Our first interview is at noon on Monday. We will be talking with Marty Rouse, the national field director of the Human Rights Campaign.

On Monday, April 27th, the Mayor of Cambridge, presented Driving Equality with the key to the city.

Mayor Simmons read a proclamation that was engrossed by the City Council that states:

MAYOR SIMMONS 

Please join Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons & the Cambridge GLBT Commission

April 27, 2009 
Cambridge City Hall
4:30 – 5:15

Reception in the Mayor’s Parlor to bid a safe journey to Cambridge GLBT Commissioner Christopher Mason as he embarks on a tour of America, driving equality to the far corners of our nation where it is needed most.

 5:15 – 5:30 

Special Presentation to the Cambridge City Council, where funds raised during the Phelps-A-Thon hosted by Driving Equality, a counter protest to the Westboro Baptist Church visit at CRLS in March, will be presented to Project 10 East and Cambridge Welcoming Schools.  We will also officially bid farewell to GLBT Commissioner Christopher Mason at that time.

All are welcome!

Hi folks! I’m happy to announce that my good friend, Chris DeBella, has joined the Driving Equality team and will be making the 100-day trip across the country with me. Now it will be Chris and Chris on a journey through the US, collecting stories from LGBTQ folks along the way.

Chris D. brings a lot of talent to the project. He is an amazing artist and has an eye for beauty that will bring this documentary film to life. Chris’ art has taken many directions in the past. Whether he is drawing, painting, photographing, or now filming, he injects a style and method into his work that is as refreshing as it is breathtaking.

Chris is also a connoisseur of coffee. He started working for the famous, local, independent café in Davis Square, Diesel, four years ago. Since then, he has taken a leadership role in the earth-friendly, queer-friendly, people-friendly company. Chris is now a manager at Diesel’s new sister store in Union Square, Bloc 11.

Chris has a long history of LGBTQ activism under his belt as well. He kicked down the closet door before his closet was even built, coming out at age 13. He was a foot soldier during the heated battle to protect same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, leading teams of activists throughout the state to knock on doors for equal rights. He was featured in the award-winning film, Saving Marriage, for his work on equal marriage rights. Chris has also been involved in the campaigns of many pro-equality candidates running for office.

When he is not slinging coffee, making art, or fighting for equal rights, Chris can be found zipping through the city on his green and yellow single-speed bike. I’m thrilled that he is coming on the trip and honored to be working with him on the documentary.

During the summer of 2009, I will be going on a 100-day, 16,000-mile road-trip, through all lower 48 states, to advance LGBT equality. Check out the About page to find out more about the project.

Explore the website! Find out more about me, take a look at my route, learn about the trip’s net-zero environmental impact, and consider donating or becoming a sponsor. When the trip starts, I will be updating the site on a daily basis with blog posts, photos, and videos.

If you are interested in learning more, or being a part of the project, send me an email at Chris@DrivingEquality.com.

I am a big fan of using anti-gay leaders to raise money for LGBT causes. I’ve used Fred Phelps and Rick Warren to raise money for LGBT equality in the past. The Phelps-A-Thon we had in Boston back in December was really popular and very successful. So when I heard that the Phelps clan was coming back to Massachusetts to picket the high school in my city of Cambridge, I decided it was time for another Phelps-A-Thon. This time, all the money raised will go to benefit the students being picketing.

While looking at the Phelps picket schedule online, I began to think that the other locations deserve Phelps-A-Thons as well. That is when I built http://www.Phelps-A-Thon.com.

We are currently running eight Phelps-A-Thons all over the country. When the “God Hates Fags” clan is protesting at a high school because of the schools GSA, we will be collecting donations for that same schools’ GSA. So they will actually be raising money for the exact same thing they are protesting.

The website lets you choose which ever Phelps-A-Thon location you’d like. If you know that Phelps is coming to your area, and want to use his hatred to raise money for your local GSA or LGBT community center, let me know and I’ll add it to the site.

All of the money raised goes back into the community that Phelps is protesting. Most of their protesting is at high schools, in which case the money would go to the schools’ GSA. The amount of money raised is up to the local community. If they want to raise a lot of money they can publicize the event in the newspapers, facebook, blogs, and listserves.

In a time when schools all over the country are cutting funding for after school programs, such as GSAs, Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church are really helping out our queer youth. (In Cambridge we have raised close to $1500 to be split between the GSA and the schools’ Welcoming Center – a resource for LGBT families which has been stuck with NO budget this year.) Not only do the Phelps-A-Thons fund the GSAs but they create a fun, positive way for communities to counter-protest the hate being spewed by the Phelps clan.

The Rick-A-Thon was a huge success! Rick Warren spoke for 4 minutes and 43 seconds (283 seconds), and we raised over $4,000 for Driving Equality! We turned Rick Warren’s anti-equality stance into positive change for LGBT people, collecting donations from over 200 people from nearly all 50 states. Every second that Warren stood at the podium, he was raising money to advance LGBT civil rights.

It is not too late to make a contribution to the Rick-A-Thon. We are sending a thank you card to Rick Warren, telling him how much he raised for LGBT equality. Make a donation today and your amount will be included on that card. (You can do so online here.)

Thank you all!

 

Driving Equality is hosting a Rick-A-Thon to turn Rick Warren’s anti-equality stance into positive change for LGBT people. Every second that Warren stands at the podium, he will be raising money to advance LGBT civil rights. (Pledge Online)

Rick Warren, a staunch opponent of equal rights for LGBT people, has used his pulpit to spread lies about LGBT families and to raise money for anti-gay legislation, such as proposition 8, which stripped equal marriage rights away from same-sex couples. When Warren takes the stage on Inauguration Day, however, he will be raising thousands of dollars to advance LGBT equality across the country.

Rick Warren’s invocation will not last longer than a couple minutes. You can pledge any amount you chose, whether it be $0.05, $0.10, $0.25, or even $1 for every second he speaks. You can even pledge a flat rate for the entire time he is at the podium. We will be displaying signs around Washington D.C. on Inauguration Day, tallying how much money Warren has raised for LGBT equality. We will make sure that everyone knows exactly how much money Rick Warren is raising for LGBT civil rights.

Watch Rick Warren compare same-sex marriage to incest and pedophilia.

We are using Warren’s own bigotry to raise funds for a good cause, one that will help counter the lies that are being spread about LGBT people. Donations will go to Driving Equality, a 100-day trek across America, through all of the lower 48 states, to advance LGBT equality.

Watch Rick Warren endorse Proposition 8 and take a strong stance against equal rights for LGBT Americans.

We can turn these discriminatory words into positive change. Help Drive Equality Across America.

The Phelps-A-Thon was a huge success! We raised over $4,500 for Driving Equality! We collected $755 of that during the 45 minutes we were on the street counter-protesting the Phelps clan. Seventy-five people showed up to support the Phelps-A-Thon and to say no to hate. Everyone cheered as we updated the sign every five minutes, tallying the amount raised by the Phelps-A-Thon. People walking by handed us $5, $10, $20 bills. Someone wrote a check for $250 on the spot. It was incredible!

See the photos here.

Watch the videos here.

In the News: “Anti-gay group pickets Boston production of Laramie Project”

Congratulations to everyone that made the Phelps-A-Thon a success! We collected donations from over 100 people all over the country. A few days ago I received a letter from a woman in a small town in Montana. She thanked me for turning Phelps’ message of hate into one of positive change for LGBT people. She included a check for $10 as a contribution to the Phelps-A-Thon.

It is not too late to make a contribution to the Phelps-A-Thon. I am sending Fred “God Hates Fags” Phelps a card, telling him how much he raised for LGBT equality. Make a donation today and your amount will be included on that card.

Thank you!

Fred Phelps’ clan is coming to Boston! The “God Hates Fags” Westboro Baptist Church is coming to picket the Laramie Project at the Boston Center for the Arts. Fred Phelps and his group travel all across the United States spreading their message of hate. When the group comes to Boston, however, they will be helping to drive equality across America.

Driving Equality is hosting a Phelps-A-Thon to counter Fred Phelps’ hateful message. For every minute the “God Hates Fags” clan is protesting, we will be collecting donations for Driving Equality, a 85-day trek across America to all of the lower 48 states to advance LGBT equality. (Pledge Online)

On the “God Hates Fags” website, Phelps has this to say about the upcoming protest in Boston:

We can turn these hateful words into positive change. Help Drive Equality Across America.