Between the marriage equality wins in New York State, Washington State and Maryland, and the recent federal endorsement of same-sex marriage by President Barack Obama, the LGBT community is riding high. But some wonder if the intense focus and fundraising around marriage equality comes at the detriment of other issues important to the LGBT community, like HIV/AIDS, transgender rights, gay teen homelessness and bullying, and immigration reform.
“My concern is that we will get federal marriage, which I think we will if we have a second term with Obama, and then all the money and interest flooding into marriage will dry up,” said comedian Kate Clinton, a longtime activist whose partner Urvashi Vaid has headed major LGBT organizations. “Gay youth are worried about violence, HIV and bullying, and I sometimes worry that if we take our eyes off the prize, when we get marriage, everyone will just go on gay cruise and forget about everything else.”
Indeed, for Megan Mulholland, a member of the grassroots group Queerocracy, the focus on marriage is already taking away interest from the issues of “everyday queers,” who nevertheless have to continue battling economic issues, homelessness, HIV infection, social justice issues and transgender oppression every which way.
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