Op-Ed: D.C. Gives the LGBT Community its First-Class Due

In an op-ed piece for The Washington Post, Robert McCartney writes:

"Kameny and Madaleno said the legalization of marriage equality in the District is important especially because it improves public perceptions of gay people. It's not just the granting of equal legal rights and responsibilities. It's the weakening of the idea that they are separate, lesser, threatening. 'This is going to accelerate the trend of the last number of years of gays to become open and out and visible,' Kameny said. 'It helps to create the impact of first-class citizenship and first-class status.'

Madaleno said the marriages would help 'normalize our relationships' in the eyes of straights. 'People will start to see that this really is just like my marriage. 'Wow, they argue about money. They bicker about who does the chores in the house,' ' he said."

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