THE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
I always like to go to Lesbian and Gay Pride
marches. I ’d have been upset with myself if I
didn’t go to Washington, D.C.
I’ve been involved in the anti-nuclear move
ment since 1980, since I was 14 years old. I
knew I was going to get arrested at the Supreme
Court.
Yes, I felt threatened while I was sitting on
the steps outside the police barricades. We were
sitting right next to the officers. They did make
efforts to make us feel uncomfortable.
The police let people in [to the Supreme
Court forecourt] in groups o f 15-30. They were
waiting for the buses to come. “ We want you to
ride to jail in comfort.”
I saw an officer punch a gay man in the face.
The protesters started chanting the cop’s name,
and he was eventually pulled off the line. There
were many wrenched shoulders. One woman
had a broken arm; she fainted from too tight
cuffs. [The “ handcuffs” are hard plastic straps,
1/2 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick, which must be
cut off. ]
But it was the most polite civil disobedience
I’ve ever been involved in. My fear of physical
violence has lessened since the CD [at the
Supreme Court]. I made myself totally vulner
able to the police.
Diana Cohen
About half the passengers on our flight home
Monday were marchers. After we were in the
air, someone in the front yelled out. “ Wasn’t that
a great m arch?” We all cheered. The young
man in the front then began to lead cheers;
“ What do we want?”
“ Gay Rights!” we answered.
In the midst o f this euphoria, the voice of the
captain o f the plane came over the public ad
dress system to announce baseball scores. Our
leader o f cheers then decided that the pilot
should announce the presence of the gay group.
As the attendants passed out our lunches, he
passed.around a petition asking the pilot to
recognize the marchers in an announcement.
Our organizer marched up through First
Class to present it to the pilot.
Later, the pilot came on. “ I understand that
there’s a group aboard that wants to be recog
nized, and I recognize that this is a free country.
But if people don’t stop trying to disrupt the
flight, there’ll be a reception party waiting
when we land.”
At this, we passed around the address of
American Airlines, all o f us vowing to write the
airline and complain about the pilot’s attitude.
Becky Wilson
At the rally, I was standing near a group of
college students from Ohio. Once in a while, a
student would climb upon the shoulders o f
another to look around. The reaction was al
ways a moment o f silence followed by a real
prideful, “ O h, my!”
When we left the Capitol Mall after the rally,
we left the place clean. People picked up all the
trash.
On Tuesday I went to Sen. Hatfield’s office
at about 10 a.m . and from there I went to the
Supreme Court. I saw riot police, a “ SWAT”
team, armed with what looked like bazookas.
But the demonstrations were very peaceful. I
was impressed with the loving atmosphere —
even at the demonstration to the Supreme
Court.
And most o f all, there was the simple and
direct love shown in the quilt.
Gary Barnes
I was in a city surrounded by friends and I had
a complete sense of safety. There wasn’t the
usual sense o f danger o f being alone in an urban
setting.
Like at the march o f 1963, people facing
great adversity in their daily lives had one day in
which they experienced a sense o f community
and could feel that the goal is worth struggling
for.
The peak o f the D.C. experience for me was
to participate in the Supreme Court Civil Dis
obedience, to discover the inscription over the
entrance claiming “ Equal Justice Under Law.”
to feel tears forming over that irony and hypoc
risy, to feel a unity of emotion with thousands
o f others as a chant spontaneously broke out
seconds later: “ Read the writing on the wall —
Equal Justice Under Law.”
The solidarity among lesbians, gay men and
straight supporters was powerfully energizing.
We were proud to be arrested. proud to be guilty
o f obstructing injustice. Here we have a turning
point, a new Stonewall. No longer do we listen
passively as mainstream politicians take our
money and tell us to wait until it's politically
feasible for them to vote on granting us rights.
Now we affirm that all human rights are in
herent, that it’s morally unacceptable for our
humanity to be subject to popular vote, that
obedience is consent to oppression, and that we
have no other moral choice than to continue to
challenge an unjust system, as we did at the
Supreme Court, with the obstruction o f our
bodies and the witness of our joyous spirits.
Marvin Moore
Bonnie Tinker
More than 600 people were arrested on
O ctober 13 on the terrace of the Supreme Court
building in a civil disobedience action protest
ing institutionalized homophobia and the ero
sion o f civil liberties for people with AIDS.
Just Out • 21 • November. 1987