Summary

Footage Information

ABCNEWS VideoSource
US March - Gay rights advocates march in push for civil rights protections
10/11/2009
APTN
VSAP622942
NAME: US MARCH 20091011I TAPE: EF09/0961 IN_TIME: 11:11:03:14 DURATION: 00:02:24:04 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION DATELINE: Washington DC - 11 Oct 2009 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: 1. Pan of demonstrators shouting "Yes We Can!" 2. Demonstrator with megaphone in front of the White House 3. Demonstrators marching and chanting "What do we want? Equality! When do we want it? Now!" in front of the White House 4. Wide of marchers walking in front of the White House 5. Wide of demonstrators marching behind banner, many holding rainbow flags 6. Demonstrators passing camera as they march down Pennsylvania Avenue, towards Capitol 7. Julie Marosky Thacker and her partner at march 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Julie Marosky Thacker, March Participant from North Carolina: "I am absolutely here to encourage President Obama to live up to his promises from the campaign for my family's equality." 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Gilbert Baker, March Participant and Creator of the Rainbow Flag: (Question: Do you think Obama has kept his promise?) "No, he hasn't, not yet. We'll see what happens. That's why we're here. We have to put pressure on not just the president but the Congress and even the Court, in order for us to achieve equality." 10. Wide shot of Lieutenant Dan Choi leading a chant at the march 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Dan Choi, March Participant and Iraq War Veteran: "I'm here because we're marching for equality. I've marched for many different things in the army, we fought for many things, but when there are people who are discriminated against in our country, it is our responsibility to step up for them." 12. Demonstrators marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, towards Capitol 13. Pull out from protest sign which reads: "Straight against hate" 14. Pan of protesters marching STORYLINE: Thousands of gay and lesbian activists took to the streets of Washington on Sunday, demanding that President Barack Obama keep his promises to allow gays to serve openly in the military and work to end discrimination against gays. Holding rainbow flags and homemade signs, protesters marched midday from the White House to the Capitol. Many children were among the protesters. A few counter-protesters had also joined the crowd, which stretched several blocks by the afternoon. Julie Marosky Thacker and her partner travelled up from North Carolina with their young daughter, who took part in the march sitting in a child carrier on Thacker's back. "I am absolutely here to encourage President Obama to live up to his promises from the campaign to my family's equality," Thacker said. The designer of the famous rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker, said he's hoping the march sends a message to Obama and others in Washington that equality for gays in the United States is long overdue. "We have to put pressure on not just the president but the Congress and even the Court, in order for us to achieve equality," Baker. Some participants in the National Equality March woke up energised by Obama's blunt pledge to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military during a speech to the nation's largest gay rights group Saturday night. Obama's political energies have been focused on two wars, the economic crisis and health care reform, though he pledged "unwavering" commitment even as he wrestled with those problems. Lieutenant Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran in the army, is facing discharge under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for revealing in March that he is gay. "I'm here because we're marching for equality. I've marched for many different things in the Army, we fought for many things, but when there are people who are discriminated against in our country, it is our responsibility to step up for them," Choi said. On Saturday, Choi led a group of gay veterans in laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to honour gay and lesbian soldiers who have died in the line of duty. Other veteran activists doubted the march would accomplish much. They said the time and money would have been better spent working to persuade voters in Maine and Washington state, where the November ballot will include a measure that would overturn a bill granting same-sex couples many of the benefits of marriage. Unlike the first march in 1979 and others in 1987, 1993 and 2000 that included celebrity performances and drew as many as 500-thousand people, Sunday's event was driven by grassroots efforts and was expected to be more low-key. Many organisers were outraged after the passage of California's Proposition 8, which cancelled the right of gays to get married in the state, and over perceived slights by the Obama administration. A bill introducing same-sex marriage in the nation's capital also was introduced last week by the District of Columbia Council and is expected to easily pass. Republican Barney Frank, an openly gay member of Congress, said the marchers should be lobbying their lawmakers. He said the demonstrations are simply "an emotional release" that do little to pressure Congress.
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