Rally Speech by Marc Behar, Forum For Equality Chairman

Thank you for being here on this historic day. At this moment, in every state and major city across our great nation, fair minded Americans are joining us in demanding that gay, lesbian, and trangendered Americans be recognized as full citizens, with the same other rights as all other Americans. Not special rights, just equal rights.

It is fitting that we are here in this place on this historic day. 100 feet behind us is the New Orleans City Council Chambers. That Council is the only legislative body in the State of Louisiana that has recognized our full equal rights. And this courthouse is the only courthouse in Louisiana that has recognized our full equality. So we stand here, where equality has been recognized, to speak to the second class treatment of gays and lesbians throughout our state and country.

We stand here to ask for the passage by Congress and the Louisiana Legislature of Employment Non-discrimination Legislation, to make sure that Americans can not be fired from their jobs just because they are gay or lesbian.

We stand here to condemn the passage in Arkansas of a hateful law that prohibits any unmarried person from adopting a child. The clear purpose of this law is to stop gays and lesbians from adopting children. And make no mistake about it --- the anti-gay bigots will attempt to do the same thing here in Louisiana in the next Legislative Session. We must stop them. And with your help, we will.

We stand here to applaud the marriage equality victories in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the ongoing efforts in New Jersey & New York. And we stand here today to express our anger and outrage at the lies and disinformation used in California by the anti-gay bigots to deceive some California voters. These bigots spent over $30 million to scare the voters. They lied about the law. They lied about us. And they lied about our families. The good news is that their victory will be shortlived. Our community will ask California voters to correct this mistake next year, and they will.

More importantly, the lies of the anti-gay bigots in California have generated a new commitment for equality in the hearts of every gay man, every lesbian and every other fair minded American. And our voices for equality will prevail. We will prevail because America is a great country that fundamentally believes that all Americans are created equal, and that all Americans have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and as we say in the pledge of allegiance, that liberty and justice is not reserved for some. It is for all.