A Message Sent

Gay people confuse me.

Today the Senate passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  

I've been reading for months, if not years, some voices in the LGBT community expressing the opinion that this is not a worthy battle.  That this law isn't going to stop anyone from committing a hate crime.  That we have bigger fish to fry.  That it's simply a waste of time and won't matter.

They leave me scratching my head in exasperation.

To me the passage of this law (the president has promised to sign it) is cause for celebration.  A giant fucking celebration.

It is one step forward.

And I can't help but wonder:  how is any forward motion is bad?

Will it stop anyone from committing a hate crime against a gay person?  My guess is no, probably not.  We have a lot of laws and they tend not to prevent a lot of people from doing a lot of things.  Should we just get rid of all laws since it seems that people break them anyway?

Equality is about one thing and one thing only:  I have the same set of rules as you.  That's it.  No more.  No less.  It's very simple.

This is why anti-marriage equality gay people confuse me so much.  I know plenty of straight people who have been with their partner for years or even decades who have chosen not to get married.  I've yet to hear any one of them express the opinion that because they don't want to get married, it should be illegal for any other straight people to get married.

I'm equally perplexed by the cynicism or even downright anger towards the Hate Crimes Bill.  It's importance isn't in its stiffer sentencing.  It's importance lies in its message.  When the president signs it, he will be sending a message, a specific message, that it is not o.k. to attack a person because he or she is or is perceived to be L, G, B, or T.  And the LGBT community will be that much closer to equality.  Much in the same way our legal inequality is part of the collective unconscious of this country, this law will become part of our collective unconscious.  One day it will be taken for granted.  And that will be a good thing.

The road is long and slow.  And requires a shift.  A shift in understanding.  In sensitivity.  In thinking.

Today that long, slow road towards equality was smoothed out a little, making it easier to take the next step and the next step and the next step.  Until there are no more steps to take.  Until this is all a boring history lesson.