Changing of the guard (continued)

Peard: Andy's observation that this was a young campaign is true. I was excited about that because that showed not just the evolution of our community, but it shows the evolution of the greater community. We finally had a step-up of new people and they were there and they were motivated. To me it was one of the most exciting parts of the campaign. I thought that was great. When we had this roundtable last time, one of our big concerns was where is the leadership, where is it going to come from in the community? I think we got the answer.

Chandler: For a lot of young people, too, it was about the direction they want to see the country go in, not just Maine, but everywhere.

Ethan Strimling: I talked to [state representative] John Martin and he was amazed with the vote up in his area. He's so pleased that it has shifted. I think what's really important about all this is that, as campaign wonks, we can get really lost in the weeds and the trees regarding the voter turnout in one area, and the turnout in another, and we love that stuff, but there has been a fundamental shift in Maine and that's probably the most important lesson for all of us in this: Maine has become a place that is no longer willing to have discrimination. When you win by 10 points, it's important to walk away from this and say, "Maine has changed, people are tolerant. We're not okay with this type of discrimination." And that's going to help us move forward to the next battle.

THE NEXT BATTLE

Phoenix: Is same-sex marriage next for Maine? That, of course, is the big question. You talked a lot during the campaign about the fact that anti-discrimination has nothing to do with marriage. Really? If and when is gay marriage going to become a reality in this state?

Strimling: My belief is that this is going to happen in the courts before it happens in the legislative body. The kind of battles we've had so far have happened in the legislative body because people on the other side have realized if they take them into the courts, they are going to lose.

Peard: I don't know what the next issue is in Maine. I know that marriage is the big issue on the national level and next door to us in Massachusetts, but I don't know that that's the next issue in Maine. I think we have some work to do to figure out what the next step is here. The fight to get an anti-discrimination law has played out in a lot of places over a long period of time, and it's just now over here. Our statewide organization [Equality Maine] has spent its entire existence trying to get this bill passed. That has been our single goal for 25 years. I think we're in the process now of rethinking our goals. Marriage is not the issue that a lot people with whom I speak in the community want to deal with; it is not the most important thing on their radar. I feel like we have some work to do to figure out our priorities.

Phoenix: A lot of people seem to think that things have worked a little backward here. Most states that have anti-discrimination laws have struggled since with achieving some of the things that we've had for years: domestic-partner benefits, inheritance rights, etc. So, what else is there?

Noel Bonam: I think we need to concentrate on working on the grassroots level, to work to bring the gay community together so when something else like this comes along, we are together. When these things are over, how much of that community do you really see? Putting a stronger face to the community is the key.

Phoenix: What can be achieved, legally? Does the anti-discrimination law open the door to strengthen, say, protection in schools? Maine still doesn't have a robust Safe Schools program.

Strimling: By winning by 10 points and fundamentally showing that Maine has changed, I think the legislature is going to be more responsive to whatever the next steps are, whether small or large. If that's the venue to do it, we're going to be more responsive. It will be easier to have those conversations. But, there's work to be done in the community to decide what those next steps are, whether to do some stuff around the edges, or make some fundamental change, it could be safe schools or adoption rights, or civil unions or whatever it is.

Peard: I know you want me to be really precise, and I'm resisting it. When I'm looking across the table at Andy, I know that we have a whole bunch of new people who are in this now who have never been in it before. Now, we have to hear their voices. What do they want? We're at opposite ends of the age spectrum. I think we need to listen a little bit, which is what I think Noel was saying, before we go to the barricades and plan X, Y, and Z. We've always talked about our community as some monolithic being: if you're gay, you believe A, B, and C. That's not true. I think we have a fabulous opportunity at this point, and I don't think we should squander it.

Bossie: We've had conversations on our campus with key organizers who ask: what is our next step? You go down the line, and my passion is higher education, while someone else I work with closely is for the eradication of AIDS, another organizer is bent on marriage. It's really fascinating for me to talk about community and what is the gay community now. More and more, people are viewing themselves as part of the larger community and being gay as just a trait. A lot of us are working towards things that really affect a much broader community, and I see that as one of the shifts of gay activism. We're all in this together, at this point, so it's very interesting and fascinating for me, at this point, to hear about this forming of community when I feel that there were just as many straight people working with me on campus as there were gay people on the issue. Now, those people are rallying around different issues, not necessarily gay issues. Although, I do see blood donation policies, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and health-care for trans people as major issues.

Bonam: And I believe that working proactively now, not reactively, is going to be the future of this movement. We don't want to be told that we need to work to defeat something. People are tired of that.

Chandler: I want to pick up on what Andy said with an article that Time magazine did a few months ago on gay youth in America, and the battle for young people, because polling of young people shows that when kids who are now in sixth and eighth grade, for them, a lot of these issues will cease to exist when they becoming voting age. And, I'm not saying that gay marriage is going to happen soon, but a majority of them believe in it and support it in this country. That's why there's such a battle from the leaders of organizations for the hearts and minds of young people — in 10 or 15 years, when these kids are in jobs and politics, that's when I think things on a national level will change, when these people who are doing things on campuses now will be doing it on a national level.

Phoenix: So, the young people who have emerged during the No on 1 campaign are not only new activists, but also products of a new and different activism?

Peard: Yes, and it makes me feel great, as the old woman in the room. We need people to step up, like Andy, and come forward and be leaders. I'll probably die with my boots on because I'm one of these wonk people, but nothing could make me happier. It was one of the most exciting things about this campaign for me, to see the new people who were there. They made it happen.

Phoenix: Andy Bossie, since you'll be fighting the fight, what do you see as the enemy going forward?

Bossie: The enemy? I don't know. I look forward to the day when the Christian Civic League, or an organization like them, can come together with us on an issue. I don't think it's that far away. When these types of groups can come together to fight poverty or homelessness, or increase funding for education, the enemy, in my opinion, are ideals that will, by then, be outdated. As the change of the guard happens, people will learn. Maybe it's already here, maybe the revolution is already upon us.

Tony Giampetruzzi can be reached at tony@giampetruzzi.com