A L O H A !
Back in the day,
there was no rainbow flag,
no signs, no hoopla.
Gay bars were hidden away from view,
dingy dives (often) operated by criminals
and regularly raided by the vice squad.
Patrons were arrested, roughed up,
had their names and sometimes faces,
published in the local papers.
Then they lost their jobs,
family support, apartments.
The only place the GLBT people could gather
and be themselves
in lives that consisted of prudent hiding
of the most fundamental personal things,
was the bar.
Being gay was a crime,
a sin, a moral weakness.
44 years ago this month
the Stonewall Inn,
a gay bar in New York City
was raided around 3am.
This time, the patrons had enough!
Office workers,
shopkeepers, and drag queens
in full regalia
battled the cops
for several days.
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court
declared that
if you are a gay couple,
legally married by the laws
of the US State you live in,
then the federal government
will NO LONGER
discriminate against you.
Social Security benefits, survivorship,
federal taxes,
military benefits,
all will acknowledge
same sex couples
along with opposite sex couples.
I was 16, and 90 miles away
when Stonewall happened.
I marched in the first
Gay Liberation March
in Philadelphia
in the early 70's.
Today, I rallied
with about a 1000 Hawaii friends
at the state capitol,
to celebrate this day.
The fight for marriage equality
is not over
in Hawaii,
or perhaps your state or province.
But determined people,
despised, powerless, abused,
discriminated against,
summarily fired,
beaten and killed,
called mentally ill,
can change all that.
I played a part,
I've seen it happen.
So speak up for what you believe.
I helped to change the world,
You do too, every day.
Make it count!
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