Hundreds in Seattle celebrate rights law
9:16 PM
On this extradinary day, we make an extraordinary third post. [Don't worry. It isn't the start of a trend.] Please indulge your usual webwrangler as he drops that persona for a moment to post this report on tonight's celebration of the equal rights law passage. Allow him (i.e. me) to momentarily post under the byline he used long ago to write a few stories on the bill and on folks like Charlie Brydon, Roger Winters, Russ Brubaker, Sue Docekal, and others when none of us guessed it would ever take this long to finally get it passed.
by Robin Evans
Hundreds gathered tonight at the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle to celebrate passage of a law that was first introduced in the Washington legislature in 1977.
The group first gathered, waiting for the doors to open, under the house's huge marquee which bore the legend, "Now Playing: VICTORY FOR EQUALITY".
The crowd was jammed uncomfortably into the theater's small lobby where a slide show ran through dozens of names, pictures, and organizational logos. It was an honor roll of the hundreds who worked through three decades to finally achieve today's victory. There was Charlie Brydon on the cover of the Weekly. There was a button for the No on 13 campaign that saved Seattle's equal housing rights ordinance in 1978.
The names and pictures celebrated the bill's long history: The Stonewall Committee. Hands Off Washington. Riot Dykes. Harvey Muggy's face. Cal Anderson in several pictures. And the many names. Miggs Regan... Don Moreland... Dick Rolfs... Bob Rohan... Barb Flye... Russ Brubaker... and dozens more. The oft-repeated roll call ended with the simple phrase, "We did it!"
A podium was set up to the left side of the lobby, but the speeches were slow to start as the crowd hummed with quiet, but sometimes growing excitement. When Seattle City Council member Tom Rasmussen entered through a side door with his colleague Jan Drago, Rasmussun -- whose name was included on the roll call of honor -- was beaming. He was hugged by many. Deputy mayor Tim Ceis entered through the same door a few minutes later but seemed to be searching for a hand to shake. Someone... Anyone?
After the slow start, the speeches started with a parade of executive directors. Fran Dunaway of Equal Rights Washington was host for the night but her soft voice was often drowned out by conversations (and the occasional crying infant for some odd reason). She spoke of the importance of coalitions to the bill's final passage.
Audrey Haberman of the Pride Foundation thanked the companies, including Microsoft, RealNetworks, HP, Boeing, and others that had been important to the bill's passage, but asked the crowd to "clap for yourselves." She assured the crowd which responded loudly that today's vote had been a community victory.
Lifelong's director and former city council member Tina Podlodowski traced the long and sometimes frustrating history of the bill.
Podlodowski called Charlie Brydon "the father of the gay rights movements in Washington" and said that he was disappointed to be out of town and unable to attend the celebration. One of the loudest ovations of the evening erupted as she mentioned the late Cal Anderson whose name remained on the bill passed today and who sheparded it through the House for several years -- a task ably taken on by his successor Rep. Ed Murray.
Murray got a huge cheer when Podlodowski brought him to the podium. He too was beaming as he told the crowd. "We have debated this for so long and so often... We won!" he said to the loudest applause of the night.
"They will never be able to take this away from us. Tonight we celebrate," Murray said, but warned that challenges to the law are sure to come. "Tomorrow, we go back to work."
Another huge cheer was given to the new council member Sally Clark who was introduced by current council member Tom Rasmusson.
"This is fantastic," Clark told the cheering crowd. "I'm excited to work for you all on the city council." She drew chuckles in the crowd as she marveled at the number of emails she had already received about city issues.
Clark's quick and to-the-point remarks were the easier to hear than any others in the evening. It was easy to understand why she had so impressed her future colleagues on the council.
The evening's last two speakers were Sue Docekal of Radical Women and Roger Winters who now works with Legal Marriage Alliance but once worked with Charlie Brydon's Dorian Group. Both of them had spoken in favor of the bill when it received its first hearing in 1977. "It was just me and a handful of other people including Dave Kopay," Docekal said. Winters had a copy of his testimony in his pocket as he arrived at the celebration. He didn't repeat it, but asked that everyone in the lobby continue to talk to family and friends about the importance of equality legislation.
"This is a great day," Winters said.
Technorati tags: Washington politics Equal rights Olympia gay+groups House Bill 2661
by Robin Evans
Hundreds gathered tonight at the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle to celebrate passage of a law that was first introduced in the Washington legislature in 1977.
The group first gathered, waiting for the doors to open, under the house's huge marquee which bore the legend, "Now Playing: VICTORY FOR EQUALITY".
The crowd was jammed uncomfortably into the theater's small lobby where a slide show ran through dozens of names, pictures, and organizational logos. It was an honor roll of the hundreds who worked through three decades to finally achieve today's victory. There was Charlie Brydon on the cover of the Weekly. There was a button for the No on 13 campaign that saved Seattle's equal housing rights ordinance in 1978.
The names and pictures celebrated the bill's long history: The Stonewall Committee. Hands Off Washington. Riot Dykes. Harvey Muggy's face. Cal Anderson in several pictures. And the many names. Miggs Regan... Don Moreland... Dick Rolfs... Bob Rohan... Barb Flye... Russ Brubaker... and dozens more. The oft-repeated roll call ended with the simple phrase, "We did it!"
A podium was set up to the left side of the lobby, but the speeches were slow to start as the crowd hummed with quiet, but sometimes growing excitement. When Seattle City Council member Tom Rasmussen entered through a side door with his colleague Jan Drago, Rasmussun -- whose name was included on the roll call of honor -- was beaming. He was hugged by many. Deputy mayor Tim Ceis entered through the same door a few minutes later but seemed to be searching for a hand to shake. Someone... Anyone?
After the slow start, the speeches started with a parade of executive directors. Fran Dunaway of Equal Rights Washington was host for the night but her soft voice was often drowned out by conversations (and the occasional crying infant for some odd reason). She spoke of the importance of coalitions to the bill's final passage.
Audrey Haberman of the Pride Foundation thanked the companies, including Microsoft, RealNetworks, HP, Boeing, and others that had been important to the bill's passage, but asked the crowd to "clap for yourselves." She assured the crowd which responded loudly that today's vote had been a community victory.
Lifelong's director and former city council member Tina Podlodowski traced the long and sometimes frustrating history of the bill.
Podlodowski called Charlie Brydon "the father of the gay rights movements in Washington" and said that he was disappointed to be out of town and unable to attend the celebration. One of the loudest ovations of the evening erupted as she mentioned the late Cal Anderson whose name remained on the bill passed today and who sheparded it through the House for several years -- a task ably taken on by his successor Rep. Ed Murray.
Murray got a huge cheer when Podlodowski brought him to the podium. He too was beaming as he told the crowd. "We have debated this for so long and so often... We won!" he said to the loudest applause of the night.
"They will never be able to take this away from us. Tonight we celebrate," Murray said, but warned that challenges to the law are sure to come. "Tomorrow, we go back to work."
Another huge cheer was given to the new council member Sally Clark who was introduced by current council member Tom Rasmusson.
"This is fantastic," Clark told the cheering crowd. "I'm excited to work for you all on the city council." She drew chuckles in the crowd as she marveled at the number of emails she had already received about city issues.
Clark's quick and to-the-point remarks were the easier to hear than any others in the evening. It was easy to understand why she had so impressed her future colleagues on the council.
The evening's last two speakers were Sue Docekal of Radical Women and Roger Winters who now works with Legal Marriage Alliance but once worked with Charlie Brydon's Dorian Group. Both of them had spoken in favor of the bill when it received its first hearing in 1977. "It was just me and a handful of other people including Dave Kopay," Docekal said. Winters had a copy of his testimony in his pocket as he arrived at the celebration. He didn't repeat it, but asked that everyone in the lobby continue to talk to family and friends about the importance of equality legislation.
"This is a great day," Winters said.
Technorati tags: Washington politics Equal rights Olympia gay+groups House Bill 2661
Labels: equal rights, legislature, politics
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