why we don’t want equality
admin on Mar 13th 2007
Why wouldn’t Family Pride, a community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) families and allies, want equality? Why wouldn’t an organization committed to securing family equality want equality? Simple. Because it’s not specific.
When talking about or advocating for LGBTQ families, using the correct messaging is crucial. We need to be specific, and we need to fight for tangible, measurable goals. “Equality” isn’t measurable. Here are some things that are:
- protection from discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all levels (home, housing, workplace).
- full rights to, responsibilities for and custody of our children
- full rights to and responsibilities for our partners through nationally-recognized marriage equality
- anti-bullying policies and schools free from harassment and assault of our children and LGBTQ youth
As simple as it seems to us, we can’t expect people to share our understanding of what it means to be part of an LGBTQ family. We can’t expect people to understand our struggle of attaining and maintaining our rights as full citizens under the law. Therefore, specific and measurable messaging is vital.
For more information about messaging, download the Speaker’s Toolkit and read chapter 5.
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