The Dallas Principles - A Call to Action

One of my American friends and fellow blogger and activist, Lane Hudson, was among 24 thinkers, activists, and donors who gathered on 15-17 May 2009 in Dallas, Texas, to discuss the immediate need for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the United States. Collectively, they prepared The Dallas Principles, eight guiding principles intended to expedite the process towards justice for our community:

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now. Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.




So please, wherever you are, click here and join the growing chorus of people across the globe who believe that now is the time to provide full equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens of the United States. When this does happen (and it will!), further groundwork will have been laid for achieving full equal rights in other nations around the world where discrimination and hatred are continually validated by legal inequality. This is not only an American issue. It's global.