In a speech at the 2003 Creating Change Conference, Coretta Scott King said:
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the
rights of lesbian and gay people. . . But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to ever
yone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream, to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people."
As we honor and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, we can also take time to think about how each of us can carry on his legacy, as Mrs. King did, by fighting for the freedom to marry.
"The time is always right to do the right thing," Dr. King said.
In 2012, the time is right for us to support marriage equality efforts in states like New Jersey and Washington, to speak out against attempts to repeal equality in New Hampshire and proposed anti-LGBT constitutional amendments in states like Minnesota and North Carolina. The time is right to work with our supportive Vermont Senate and Congressional leaders to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the discriminatory "defense of marriage act" (DOMA) and give the marriages of same-sex couples in Vermont and elsewhere the federal recognition they deserve.
Though it sometimes seems as if full federal marriage equality is a distant dream, Dr. King's words remind us:
"The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice."
Best wishes on this Martin Luther King Day from Vermont Freedom to Marry.
