This is the HUGE elephant in the room or the 800 pound gorilla…the issue of church-state separation, which the right-wing fascists have been trying to dismantle because it interferes with their plan to turn the US into a theocracy. It seems that DOMA and its counterparts on the state level have two major issues connected with them that no one is stressing or ‘leveraging’ (I detest that word): church-state separation; and protecting minorities from majorities. Please correct me if this is wrong, but I have not seen any lawsuits brought by the LGBT community based on the fact that majorities have voted to oppress them (with ‘referenda’), and that a narrow religious doctrine is being imposed upon everyone. When will we make these the major issues, and bring the true conflict out in the open…between the theocrats and the rest of us? Is it because Americans are squeamish about questioning religion that the issue is not more prominent in the LGBT struggle?

Absolutely, there is still much work to be done and we will. Barney Frank is correct to call for greater involvement in the political process. No doubt about it.

But, even if we double the number of people participating in our movement by inspiring allies – we would still come up dramatically short of the number of AARP members or gun owners.

So, yes, we can and must do better, but the comparison to these groups is unrealistic. Thus, we must mix traditional lobbying with other means to accomplish our goals.

That is a good point. I have yet to see a whip count. But, we also know that religious beliefs are an excuse, in many cases, to do what is politically convenient. By working hard, through lobbying, marches, writing letters, giving money, speaking out in the media and mobilizing our allies, we can make it more politically advantageous and less costly to overturn DOMA. That is part of what our movement is all about – moving politicians. That is why we have made huge strides since Stonewall (and before this event) and will continue to win this battle for freedom.

Well – one caveate: we could be a larger constituency than we are.

With the occasional exception, all GLBTQ people come from families and have friends. We may not be out to our parents and siblings and relatives, or made be in conflict with them because of our sexual orientation, but those family members, regardless of how they feel about homosexuality today,have some investment, some interest in our lives and well-being. Involve all the heterosexuals who care about us, and we’d be a huge constituency.

I think there is still room for a lot of work getting our families involved in working for our equality. If enough of our parents and siblings and het friends were as involved as Judy Shepherd is, we’d win our equality quickly and decisively.