What is Washington Marriage Alliance?
A question was posed to me during the first planning meeting for the PRIDE contingent and I think it was a good one that needs repeating: what is Washington Marriage Alliance? The answer is both a simple and complex one. Washington Marriage Alliance is not a non-profit. We are not a big or small organization. We are not a business. What we are is a unified movement created through the collaboration of caring and concerned citizens who see the needs for equal rights for all LGBT people. Washington Marriage Alliance will not turn anyone away because anyone, whether affiliated with a non-profit or not can be a part of Washington Marriage Alliance. We also believe that anyone has something to offer and can be a part of the solution. Whether you are a good typist, musician, organizer, envelope stuffer, artist, speaker, or have never participated in any kind of activist work before, you can still be a part of this movement; because this movement is not about any one individual or any one minority. This movement is about the world community as a whole. When one group has their rights denied to them, then it is entirely possible for any group to have their rights denied to them. The civil rights movements of world history all centered round this idea – that we are a world community and a part of a much bigger collective. Furthermore, we are not a series of individuals but rather the same person. Even if the person to whom you are speaking has views that are radically different from your own, you are still the same person. You are both human beings, brought up to believe in certain values and have certain priorities in life. When you really think about it, there is no us versus them. But it is when we fear the differences between us that we start to divide people into categories and groups and suddenly the word minority is thrown around in our society. If we started to see the world not as separate groups or cultures or communities or nationalities but as one collective, it becomes far more difficult to hate and discriminate. Washington Marriage Alliance strives to make this point clear – that when one of us is discriminated against, we are all discriminated against. It seems like a lofty concept at first. But really, it’s not so far fetched.
All are welcome at Washington Marriage Alliance. Even if you do not support marriage equality, we would like to hear from you and talk with you about your viewpoints. If you want to get involved in the fight to gain and defend marriage equality then please e-mail us at washingtonmarriagealliance@hushmail.com or call 206 339-3796.
All phone calls and e-mails are private and confidential.
