Equality Illinois director: Politics behind gay rights achievements

Equality Illinois director: Politics behind gay rights achievements
BY CALEB HALE,
Copyright by THE SOUTHERN, CARBONDALE, IL
October 1, 2006


Proving every movement needs its pragmatist, Equality Illinois public policy director Rick Garcia said the major achievements in state gay rights in recent years aren't due to a sweeping philosophical change in legislators' attitudes; they have come through shrewd politics.

Garcia spoke to a small group of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students Monday night, the first scheduled event in the campus' Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History Month, which runs through the end of October.

The long-time gay activist said it took 30 years just to get Illinois to agree to non-discrimination against homosexuals in society, and the biggest strides came when Garcia realized the gay community needed to stop waxing philosophical and start playing hardball politics with politicians, whom he noted understand two things - votes and money.

"Whether I've changed their hearts and minds is of no concern to me," Garcia said. "All I care about is when it comes time to vote, they press the green button."

Garcia recounted Equality Illinois' efforts to counter legislator arguments that gays were anti-family, anti-religious and bad for business in the years leading up to the passage of the Illinois Human Rights Act, which included an anti-discrimination clause for homosexual citizens.

The tactics Garcia described have less to do with epiphanies on the legislators' parts and more to do with pandering to the whim of voters in their respective districts.

Garcia's most recent battle, he described, was to block an advisory question on the primary election ballot that sought a referendum on banning gay marriage. Activists scoured 300,000 signatures the group bringing up the question claimed to have and discovered many of the petition signatures were invalid. The State Board of Elections turned down the question earlier this year and the courts overruled subsequent appeals.

For now, Garcia said the Illinois gay community is "free and clear" of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but he noted they are nowhere near approval of same-sex marriages.

"We are still not where we should be, because one partner may not be able to make medical decisions for the other, one partner is not able to arrange burial services or collect Social Security. We are not being treated equally," Garcia said.

In taking questions about how the gay community can turn the tide, Garcia stressed all politics is local, urging students on the campus to push for new resources for gay and lesbian individuals and to educate the community with a more aggressive spirit.

At the end of the lecture, Garcia was asked about gubernatorial endorsements for November. He said while Equality Illinois' political action committee has yet to endorse a candidate and while Gov. Rod Blagojevich and State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka both support gay rights, Garcia noted Blagojevich has extended same-sex benefits to state employees. He added the only office that hasn't taken up the offer is the treasurer's office. Garcia said that is a significant difference between the candidates at the moment.



caleb.hale@thesouthern.com

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