I had the honor of addressing the crowd at the recent rally on the Statehouse steps on Saturday, January 16, 2016. It was a rainy day, but the crowd didn’t let them dampen spirits.
(Speech from Rally on Jan. 16, 2016)
I come before you today with a message of hope, born out of your compassion, your determination, and your grit. Regardless of the challenges and the temporary defeats we have sustained, I feel hope!
This past week the President of the United States spoke of hope. Even in the face of violence, turmoil, bigotry, and political dysfunction in our country, he shared hope. And there was one phrase in his speech that stuck out and resonated with me – he spoke of voices of “unarmed truth and unconditional love. “Voices,” he said “Dr. King believed would have the final word.”
Dr. King spoke those words on November 10, 1964, during his acceptance speech receiving the Noble Peace Prize. It bears repeating:
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”
I served on the committee last year that finally opened its doors, ironically in the Lincoln Auditorium, to hear the historic legislation to Add the Words “gender identity and sexual orientation” to the Human Rights Act. After four full days of citizens sharing stories that ran the gamut of human emotions and vulnerability, my committee along party lines once again slammed the door shut on freedom and equality to my gay, lesbian, transgender brothers and sisters.
Stunned by the vote, my head hanged low as I walked up the aisle of the auditorium towards the door. Then, as I entered the hall, my eyes lifted to see many of you, directly taking up the charge of freedom and equality again, standing silently and firmly with hands over mouths, tears streaming down your faces and hands. It was an eerily quiet scene; I could hear the sounds of clicking heels moving down the hallway mixed with the occasional sobs seeping through cupped hands.
My heart swelled with love and my spine straightened, once again to see that “right temporarily defeated” is still “stronger than evil triumphant.” No one will divert you from the truth and no one will divert you from what is right. With grit and determination, that is truly the Idaho way, we continue to stand firmly in our love and compassion for our brothers and sisters.
As I stood there, I thought…
Even in the face of hateful statements from people testifying and hateful statements from some of our state leaders, you remained steadfast in your truth and compassion.
I was humbled by your physical and emotional strength to stand on cold, marble floors, hands over your mouths, for hours on end, while most of my colleagues shuffled past you in annoyance.
I was humbled by your courage to be arrested and then sentenced in court and to quietly complete hours and hours of community service.
I am humbled, inspired, HOPEFUL by your clear direction and pure desire to fight for fairness and equality. “Unarmed truth and compassion” will have the final word.
Right now in our own state we are facing many serious issues that Dr. King may have said threaten “dignity, equality and freedom for [our] spirits.”
• Bigotry against people who are Muslim
• Violent attacks on Planned Parenthood
• Political ideology that blocks health care coverage to about 80,000 of our hard working citizens
• Attacks on our federal government by lawless marauders taking over a federal building while the local community has asked them to leave – imagine any other group in the Untied States doing this and getting by with it…
• Our African American brothers and sisters across the country who have been killed at the hands of police violence
• And continued denial of basic human rights to our friends and family who are lesbian, gay, and transgender.
I am truly thankful that the same people here today are…
• the same people who show up to support refugees.
• the same people who show up to support Planned Parenthood and a woman’s rights.
• the same people who show up for Black Lives Matter.
• the same people who show up to stand against epidemic levels violence against women and girls.
• the same people who show up to protect our public lands from state takeover and sale.
In our numbers and in our truth, we recognize the common fight we share. We must remain together, show up together, and fight together. We must show politicians in this Statehouse that we won’t comprise on human rights!
We have seen public comments by the Senate president that he will introduce what is called “compromise” legislation. However, we WILL NOT COMPROMISE on any right that is a basic right to all people. It is our responsibility as government leaders to ensure that we are all on a level and balanced playing field. All people have access to the same rights. A cafeteria approach to selecting rights for our citizens is inhumane and unAmerican.
So today, the day after Dr. King’s birthday, let’s remain hopeful and steadfast in our faith that “unarmed truth and unconditional love” will have the final word.