Ongoing Challenges... Ongoing Opportunities... The Summer of 2022

It was Albert Einstein who said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

Well, Albert, we are certainly in the middle of rather tumultuous difficulty!!

Roe v. Wade has been overturned, there have yet again this year been hundreds of newly proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislative bills all across the USA, minor gun control legislation may pass but at the same time a sweeping open carry law has  been put into effect via a Supreme Court ruling...

...And so many in our community are gravely concerned that LGBTQ+ marriage equality will be next.

Will it be overturned by the Supreme Court next year??  I'm one of the founders of RainbowWeddingNetwork, and for 22 years my partner and I have been witness to and actively involved with the saga of marriage equality throughout the country.  We have seen states and locales extend marriage access, and then rescind.  In June 2015, when the Obergefell v. Hodges decision came down, we were elated and the whole experience for our community changed:  it felt like we went from being a ping-pong-ball minority to something a little bit more accepted; a little bit more validated.

And in my humble opinion, having walked this road for 22 years... that is all about to change once again.

In some ways, we can understand that the founding of our nation was based upon a back-and-forth, push-and-pull momentum, wherein differing viewpoints compete for control and dominance both at the legislative level and the societal level.  In many ways, this is a healthy ideal.

But, it's been overtaken in recent years -for the past few decades perhaps- and has become not a framework for vigorous discourse... but instead has become a battleground.  -Wherein differing viewpoints are not permitted nor idealized, but instead made into matters of utmost suspicion that lead to extreme divisiveness and either hatefulness or the appearance of it, used for politicized purposes. The ideals of our founding fathers and mothers have been weaponized.  For political gain.  For money.  For power.  Capitalism at its low point?  Maybe.  But I suppose that is for polical analysts, sociologists and other academics to decide.

As for our experience, it is a "difficulty" to say the least.  But wherein lies the opportunity??

Well, to put it simply:  that opportunity remains, as it ever has, in our own hands.  As citizens of this "last great experiment" (to quote yet another genius), it is within our own power to enact the change we desire.

The LGBTQ+ community has, throughout the years since Stonewall, remained one of the most politically active minorities in the USA.  We march.  We protest.  We also attend zoning meetings, and planning hearings, town meetings and district gatherings.  We write letters to our political leaders, we call, we speak up on behalf of others in our community and on behalf of our children.  We march further.  We vote.  We encourage others to do so also.  We make our voices known.

But in recent years, many of us have become more complacent.  It's been hard to stay energized, midst the challenges of a worldwide pandemic and before that, midst the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, legislative proposals and violence that we have experienced since June 2015.  The promise of Obergefell v. Hodges, for many, fell short, simply because a new Presidential administration took hold shortly thereafter, and the wave of chaos that ensued felt overwhelming.

But now the latest difficulty that faces us requires great rigor and renewed commitment.  We have to muster strength and stand up - we must march again, get out the vote again, perhaps run for office ourselves even despite the violence, frustration and heartache.  We must remember that we will not establish a more perfect union, unless we ourselves keep up the discourse in ways that are non-aggressive yet mightily productive.

Every action matters.  Come out.  As LGBTQ+... as a climate activist... as an animal rights advocate... as a fan of the arts...  as a helpful neighbor and friend... as a citizen of a country that requires each of us to be as active as we possibly can be, and to keep hold of the lfesaving belief that, even within the depths of this challenging time, we can still find the very real opportunities to give ourselves a stronghold and rise to meet the moment.

Our minority definitely has an opportunity in this time and in this place.  We can become a beacon of non-violence and productive momentum, for greater equality for all minorities and for all people.  Because we know the truths of what inequity feels like, we can easily commit ourselves to the ideal that equality for all, and in every circumstance, is a cause worth standing up for.  - A cause worth standing for together.

 -Marianne Puechl, co-founder / RainbowWeddingNetwork.com