Two rallies took place in Indianapolis on Tuesday concerning a resolution which passed the state senate and will now move to the house. The resolution is supposed to prevent same-sex marriage in Indiana (there is already a law on the books stating that marriage is between a man and a woman) but its broad language encompasses civil unions and other arrangements between consenting adults. A good analysis of this can be found in a recent dKos
diary by TheJohnny One rally was arranged by Advance America, headed by Eric Miller, a failed GOP primary candidate for governor. The other was a grassroots effort headed by a local activist, Pepper Partin.
I attended the grassroots rally. A report of the events and some photos are after the cut. I polled dKos members in the open thread last night on sign slogans; you can see those results as well.
We (my daughter and I) got downtown at about 11:15 and parked in a nearby garage. I knew there also was going to be a rally for the opposite side of the issue so I felt a little conspicuous as we made our way up to street level; there were more women in mid-calf length skirts and big hair than I usually encounter downtown. When we got outside, though, the first thing I saw was a small group with rainbow signs gathered on the opposite corner. Hurrah! We joined a stream of people heading towards the statehouse.
In spite of the very cold weather, as we rounded the last corner, I saw a great crowd had assembled all along the sidewalk in front of the statehouse. I was expecting to see some people from my local Democracy for America meetup so I kept an eye out. I saw a lot of great signs. One woman pushed a stroller that held a toddler who brandished a miniature sign that read, "Why can't my grandpas get married?" Another was decorated with large, rainbow-colored origami cranes. We finally made our way to the statehouse steps. It was warmer there as we were shielded from the wind and the speakers were expected to appear on the steps so we decided to stay there.
As the rally started, the sky released a flurry of big, fat snowflakes. They were really beautiful so I tried to take them in stride as we listened. We heard from a variety of community leaders, activist, religious, and political, including the organizer, two kids from Indiana Youth Group, a UU minister, a representative from Americans United, the leader of the Indiana Stonewall Democrats, and politicians at the state and city level. Senator Vi Simpson, one of a handful who voted against the amendment, told us that many were voting for the issue out of fear and we needed to show them our political clout. The city council member announced that they were working at least to put sexual orientation protection into city law and she called the amendment legislation "deeply anti-intellectual". It was nice to hear it put in those terms.
When the rally ended, we were invited to go into the statehouse to meet in small groups with legislators, both those who had or would vote against the amendment and fence-sitters. As we made our way into the warm building, I had a moment to reflect on the differences in the rallies. Those of us outside on the steps had gathered in a grassroots effort, headed by a few people who had done a lot of legwork to gather a coalition of groups to be there and help spread the word. I had bundled up that morning, drove downtown and paid for my own parking. It was worth it. Those who rallied for the amendment enjoyed a posh spot under the rotunda, sitting in chairs. They'd been bussed in, many by their churches, and dropped off at the statehouse door. For all the kid-glove treatment, though, they were being fed lies and fear. One story quotes Miller telling that crowd, "Your family is at risk if we don't win." Pepper Partin wrote tonight on a list-serve I participate in that one of the saddest aspects for her was the presence of children at that rally, being brainwashed.
We saw these kids and others as we waited in the halls of the statehouse. We were kept to the sides to leave a pathway for those exiting the other rally. The first few groups left unremarked but soon chanting started. As our rally had been quite peaceful and the crowd quiet, I'm assuming it was the guy parading down the aisle shouting "God hates sin!" that got it started. Our chants in reply filled the halls.
Before too long, the cops who were monitoring the group started moving us out of the building. There were some disappointed noises but people started moving toward the door. I've been embracing my inner cranky old lady though so I told the nearest police officer that I'd been promised I could speak with my representative. "Don't stand there then, move that way," he snarled, motioning down the hall. "I'd be happy to!" I snapped back.
With one of my meetup friends whom I'd found in the crowd, I found my way upstairs to a desk where I could send a note to my house representative, asking to speak to him. We wrote notes then waited. My friend was on a lunch break so decided she needed to leave. Shortly afterwards, the woman at the desk where we'd left our notes called out to me and pointed towards a man talking to a few people. It was my representative, Greg Porter. I waited a few minutes as he talked to students who were there gathering signatures for a school assignment. When he finished, I introduced myself and my daughter, told him that we'd been outside on the steps for the rally and that I was interested on his position on the issue. He seemed a little reticent, trying to figure out what I was asking. "You were outside at the rally?" he asked. Yes. He seemed to say he supported the amendment and I asked, "So, you agree with writing discrimination into our constitution?" That's when he said, "Oh, no, no! I'm a friend!" He told me that he intended to vote against the amendment if it came to the house. I told him I was glad to hear that then we talked about some other issues. As we moved to leave, he asked us to wait a minute and went through some large double doors. He was back within a minute with "Indiana House of Representative" lapel pins for my daughter and I.
I've attended a few rallies since becoming involved in politics with the Dean campaign. I always feel a little reluctant to go because I'm not crazy about crowds, I'm mostly an introvert. But I've always found them very rewarding when I have attended. This one was no different. It was really gratifying for me to be with fellow Hoosiers who don't have backward prejudices. It was great to see that a cold, inclement day couldn't dampen our cry for justice. It was also really educational for me to see how I could lobby my representative. I'd met him once before when I worked at a polling place during the last election, but I didn't recognize him at that time. I intend to follow this visit up with a thank-you card and to make sure he knows who I am and that he'll be hearing from me.
Monday night, I posted some slogans that I was considering for signs to take to the rally. Here are the results:
My daughter shows off one side of our sign. It's my nod to Lakoff and taking back the symbols of our democracy.
I got a lot of compliments on this side of the sign. A few others had similar sentiments, and Vi Simpson expressed as much in her speech, but...I had the bells. Thanks to everyone who replied and helped me think about how to present these ideas!