250,000 ATTEND LGBT NATIONAL EQUALITY MARCH 2009! 13 VIDEOS 31 PHOTOS!

October 11, 2009
Police estimated the crowds at the National Equality March Sunday numbered around 250,000, sending a strong message to lawmakers that the LGBT community will no longer be satisfied with crumbs, that we will not be content until we have full equality under civil law in all fifty states.

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Lady Gaga raises a fist in the air as she screams, "Are you listening, Obama?" See the video from the National Equality March at the bottom of this post. 10-11-09 photo

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With the sun shining, and temperatures holding in the sixties, the throngs streamed past the White House, down Pennsylvania Avenue, culminating at the Capitol. Demonstrators chanted "Yes we can" in English and Spanish, resurrecting President Obama's campaign slogan, while waving colorful signs, banners, and flags.

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Photo of dismissed Lt Dan Choi before he ripped the tape from his mouth to yell, "I'm telling, telling, telling! Won't you join me?" at the National Equality March Sunday. 10-11-09 photo

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The rally took place a day after President Barack Obama addressed 3,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and their supporters at the annual fundraising dinner put on by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), pledging sweeping reforms to undo both the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy in the military and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

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Out lesbian actress from Sex and the City, Cynthia Nixon, waves at the crowd before giving a rousing speech at the National Equality March. 10-11-09 photo

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The demonstration came 30 years after the first major march on Washington by the GLBT community.

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Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black speaks to the National Equality March crowd. Check out the video below. 10-11-09 photo

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Speakers included civil-rights activists Julian Bond and Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, slain gay college student from Wyoming whose name is attached to the recently passed House legislation on hate crimes, which President Obama has pledged to sign.

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National Equality March organizer Cleve Jones and friend. Jones made the first AIDS quilt and was a protege of Harvey Milk. 10-11-09 photo

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In front of the White House, demonstrators chanted: "Hey, Obama, can't you see? We demand equality."

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Longtime openly gay comedienne Kate Clinton joked at the National Equality March podium that her friends thought she was around at Stonehenge (rather than Stonewall). 10-11-09 photo

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Los Angeles City Council member Bill Rosendahl, the only gay elected official in L.A. city government called it "unconscionable" for Obama not to immediately lift the Don't Ask, Don't Tell military policy and to reinstate service members who have been booted out for their sexual orientation.

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Sign attached to a baby carriage at the National Equality March: "I Love My Mommies!" 10-11-09 photo

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Many protesters wore T-shirts sporting the words: "Legalize gay" and "Hey, Obama! Let Mommy Marry Mama!" Various signs read: "God Loves Gays," "Homophobia is a Sin," "Jesus Had Two Dads and He Turned Out Fine," "Proud to Have Two Moms," "Let the Gays be as Miserable as the Straights—Marriage Equality NOW," "Hate is Not a Family Value," "Marriage Rights are Civil Rights," and "Let's Have a Summit, Mr. President. I'll Bring the Beer."
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Julian Bond gave a great talk at the National Equality March, saying blacks should most certainly stand up for the civil rights of gays. 10-11-09 photo

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Over thirty speakers gave awe-inspiring speeches, including the Chairman of the NAACP, Julian Bond, who said, "We have a lot of real and serious problems in this country, and same-sex marriage is not one of them. Good things don't come to those who wait, but they come to those who agitate."
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Check out the NBC Nightly News video: Gay Rights Advocates March in D.C.:

Listen to Sherry Wolf talk to NBC the morning of the National Equality March on this video: We Want Full Equality:

Watch this video: Thousands Rally In Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March 10-11-09:


Check out this National Equality March video: The Crowd has a Message for Obama:


Watch Lt. Dan Choi Speaking At Gay Rights Rally (the National Equality March) In this video taped in Washington, D.C. 10-11-09:

Here’s the video of Lady Gaga’s Speech at the National Equality March! 10-11-09:=

Check out this National Equality March video of Metropolitan Community Church founder/Pioneer Rev. Troy Perry speaking to the National Equality March 10-11-09:


Watch this video of Actress Cynthia Nixon (lesbian Emmy, Tony, Grammy-winning star of Sex and the City) giving her talk at National Equality March In Washington, D.C. 10-11-09:


Check out this short video of Judy Shepard Speaking at National Equality March In Washington, DC, 10-11-09:


Here’s the video of screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for Milk, speaking at the National Equality March in Washington, DC 10-11-09:


Listen to this inspiring video from the National Equality March: Cleve Jones Speaks 10-11-09:


Watch the National Equality March Rally video of Julian Bond (NAACP) Speaking, Pt.1, 10-11-09:


Check out Pt.2 of the National Equality March Rally video: Julian Bond (NAACP) Speaks 10-11-09:

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Photo of dwarf yellow Rapture Daffodil Narcissus Jonquil growing in Oklahoma's Zone 7 from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos14

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com/ for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==