Column
Last month, the Equal Rights Amendment was reintroduced into both the House and Senate, with Democrats promising they would do their best to get it passed.
I love the ERA, which is now called the Women's Rights Amendment. It's about time it was added to the Constitution. Some people think it's a moot point—it's not.
But let's talk about something else for now. Let's talk about an idea I had after I learned about the reintroduction.
Let's call this idea The Equal Rights for Gays and Lesbians Amendment. Or EGL for short. Eagle. Nice, huh? Good ring to it.
The idea of EGL is crazy. It would never get out of committee. Heck, it would likely never get into committee. Who would lobby for such an amendment?
Well, that's what our Left Wing Radicals are for.
Sometimes I think we forget we have radicals on our side, too. Our country has swerved so hard to the right that people who 40 years ago may have seemed like Republicans—or who actually were Republicans (Hilary Clinton is a prime example)—are now thought of as frighteningly rabid liberals.
They're not. They're centrists.
Now, I'm a centrist myself. I humbly submit that centrists make good analysts—we try to look at all sides without automatically following any party line. They may even make the most effective political leaders. Centrists are practical. Centrists are compromisers.
But centrists don't change minds and centrists don't save the world.
The world (or at least the American part of it) is changed like this:
Radicals on the left propose something ridiculous. Say, gay marriage. Everyone becomes terrified.
"No, no!" people say. "We can't have gay marriage! That would destroy the country!"
Radicals on the right rub their hands together gleefully and fire up their base. They go a bit overboard. They start comparing gay people to serial killers.
The American Middle pulls back in confusion. A few wise people from both parties start saying things like, "Well, that can't be right. I know someone who's gay and I like her."
They think a little. They fight a lot. Then they come to a compromise, which currently looks something like this: Gay marriage, no. Too scary for most states. But Civil Unions? Huh, that might be OK.
And soon, Civil Unions start to seem completely reasonable. As they are.
This is, of course, a gross simplification of how the equal marriage battle is continuing to play out. But generally, I think it outlines a good strategy: the Left Wing proposes something no one is ready for. The Right Wing over-reacts. A compromise is reached in the middle.
And once the compromise seems safe and like the status-quo, the dance happens all over again, and we move forward.
But lately, it feels like our Left Wing radicals have become wallflowers. They're not scaring anyone. They're sitting back and letting the centrist Dems---all the presidential candidates except for Kucinich—try to duck, as all those soft tomatoes labeled "liberal left-wing radical" are hurled in their direction.
Enough. We need our real Left Wing Radicals to show up. Come out of hiding! Start scaring people again!
And may I suggest you start scaring people with the Equal Rights for Gays and Lesbians Amendment?
The idea, of course, is not radical at all: in a country founded on the belief that we are born equal, guaranteeing equal rights for gays and lesbians should be a no-brainer.
I hope you laughed at that.
Because we all know that if 50 percent of the population—women—haven't been able to guarantee those rights in writing even though the Amendment was first introduced in 1923 (!) , gays and lesbians are in for a nasty fight.
Actually, in an ideal world, the Constitution would enshrine a statement familiar to almost every large corporation and organization in the country, incorporating positions which are largely enshrined already in federal law:
"This country will not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender, perceived gender, or sexual orientation."
But if we can't have that, perhaps we could just have a slight modification of the ERA:
"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sexual orientation or identity."
Asking for this will scare people.
I promise.
And perhaps it will scare people enough that Don't Ask, Don't Tell becomes completely reasonable to everyone. ENDA will be a cakewalk. Even equal marriage will start seeming less threatening.
Do I expect that we will ever see EGL passed?
Of course not.
But I'm a centrist.
Left Wing Radicals, though. They might believe it. And they're the ones who can change the world.
Jennifer Vanasco is an award-winning, syndicated columnist based in New York. Email her at jennifer.vanasco@gmail.com. Read her occasional blog which links to her column archive at jennifervanasco.com.
Equal Rights Amendment--for Gays
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
