Working at the ACLU of Maine, I have days where I am blown away by the dedication of our members. I will tell someone about my new job here and they will respond "I'm a member!" It makes sense that people I'm generally impressed by are involved with our work. You know who you are - you've fought the good fight for years now, defending civil liberties every chance you get. You've spoken up, written letters and marched in the streets.
Well, if you still have your marching shoes, it is time to lace them up! The ACLU of Maine is registered for this year's Southern Maine Pride Parade, happening on Saturday, June 16th in downtown Portland. We will have a banner and t-shirts for our members to wear, celebrating our support for same-sex marriage in Maine. We want to stand with the entire community of people who want to see Maine win marriage for loving and committed couples in our state. This is a perfect opportunity for us to walk alongside the people we are working with and for on this important issue.
Pride parades started as protest marches in the 1960s, when the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community was organizing and speaking out against oppression and violence. We've come a long way since then, but still have much farther to go. You know we're working toward winning marriage for all Mainers, but even after our victory in November, we know there will be more work to be done to ensure equal protection under the law for all citizens. We know you'll be with us then, like you are today.
If you're feeling fired up and want to join us at the Pride festivities on the 16th, get in touch with me and I'll send you all the details. You can email me at jbarkley@aclumaine.org. I look forward to marching with you.
