Queers Invading Penn rally in support of same-sex marriage

Declaring that same-sex marriage is a "basic freedom," Reverend Beverly Dale and the campus group Queers Invading Penn celebrated National Freedom to Marry Day with a rally Friday afternoon on College Green. NFMD was actually scheduled for Thursday, February 12. Students here however, held the rally Friday due to scheduling conflicts. About 20 people attended the event. Established by gay advocacy groups to increase support for same-sex marriage, the February 12 NFMD coincides with Abraham Lincoln's birthday and is close to Valentine's Day -- "a symbolic joining of love and liberty," College sophomore and QuIP member Laurie Eichenbaum noted. The rally began when College junior Alex Gino, the co-chairperson of Penn's Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance, informed the audience that same-sex marriage is not legal in any of the country's 50 states. "That's not cool," she added. Following Gino's introduction, faculty members and local gay activists called onlookers to action. Andrew Park, the executive director of the Philadelphia Center for Lesbian and Gay Law and Public Policy, challenged the audience to make a difference by contacting "the three 'Cs' -- your clergy, city council and your colleagues." Indeed, members of the University's clergy, represented at the rally by Dale, are major supporters of same-sex marriage. Dale told onlookers that the Christian Association was one of the first local signatories to a national same-sex marriage petition and has been performing same-sex marriages for 20 years. "It's easy to say that heterosexual marriage is God-ordained," she observed. "But excuse me, who talked to God about that?" Unfortunately for participants at the rally, the federal government disagrees with QuIP's stance. In 1996, President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, a national anti-same-sex marriage measure. "When President Clinton signed the [DOMA], he was spitting in the face of a community that had asked for his support," Communications Professor Larry Gross said. This past year, nine states followed Clinton's lead, adopting their own anti-same-sex marriage bills. By contrast, only five states -- Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington -- have pro-same-sex marriage bills pending. More recently, Maine voters passed a referendum last week to repeal certain gay and lesbian protections. "Our hard-won gains [have] to be constantly defended against backlash," Gross said. Toward the end of the rally, a staged marriage ceremony was held between two female QuIP members. Gino, acting as the United States government, prohibited the wedding from taking place. The demonstration concluded with a march on Locust Walk. Marchers met the gaze of curious bystanders with chants of "We want to tie the knot," and "What do we want? Marriage! When do we want it? Now!"