Are Some Activists in a Snit Over Norfolk Gay Marriage Lawsuit?

One of the frustrations of living in a state like Virginia where LGBT citizens have literally zero non-discrimination protections and where our life commitments and relationships have zero legal recognition is hearing gay activists who usually reside in liberal states lecture us about the need to be patient.  That's easy to say when one is safely residing in New York or other states with employment protections, partner benefits and full marriage rights.  A comment I received on my post about the federal lawsuit filed by friends last week raises the issue whether or not some are pissed off that the couple who filed the lawsuit did not dutifully wait for permission from "those who know best."   Yes, it is important that any lawsuits be framed in the best manner possible.  At the same time, however, the professional activists at Lambda Legal and the ACLU need to realize that some of us are tired of waiting for someone else to tell us we have permission to demand equality.   The following are excerpts from Lambda Legal on the as yet un-filed lawsuits that are supposed to be coming in Virgina and other states:

We have chosen the states we have because, after in-depth analysis, we have concluded they have the best chances of yielding good results. In some parts of the country, a lawsuit may be ill-advised because existing appellate precedent may make it hard to win. It is not that we care less about certain states or think that people living in those states are less deserving of the same rights as everyone else. Instead, we are being strategic in trying to rack up wins and avoid losses.

We have seen time and again that filing cases in states where the odds are stacked against victory can create adverse precedent and interfere with momentum, making future cases harder to win. Positive momentum will help us reach nationwide success sooner, and that’s why we are concentrating on jurisdictions where we think the chances are best to win.

The impatience that people feel is very understandable - we feel impatient too! It is manifestly wrong that same-sex couples in 37 states are still denied a basic and fundamental freedom that others enjoy, and the harms from being excluded from the tangible and intangible rights and responsibilities of marriage are serious and manifold.

They are impatient too?  I think not.  Yes, I am being harsh, but when I represented Michael Moore who was fired from the Virginia Museum of Natural History for being gay, I did not receive ANY assistance form Lambda Legal.  That's right none whatsoever.  In fact, the only assistance I received was from an attorney in the D.C. office of the ACLU.  If you want to play God, then do something.  Don't just sit back in your liberal state in your ivory tower while the rest of us are left in a fourth class citizenship status.