Thousands march in Washington for gay rights

Supporters display signs as they march in the parade

March tops busy week for activists

April 30, 2000
Web posted at: 4:51 p.m. EDT (2051 GMT)

In this story: Lobbying for equal rights Hate crime legislation top priority RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of demonstrators gathered on the National Mall in Washington on Sunday to march for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.

Participants in the "Millennium March on Washington for Equality" walked past the Washington Monument carrying colorful flags and a sign that said "Stop Hate Crimes."

"All we want is the freedom to love, the freedom to love whomever we choose without fear, without bigotry, without discrimination," said Lorii Jean, former executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, told a rally after the march.

AUDIO Martina Navratilova says gay couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples 337K/31 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Singer Melissa Etheridge says gay rights are improving 206K/19 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Former Executive Director of L.A. on Lesbian Center Lorii Jean says says equal gay discrimination is still affects millions of people 302K/28 sec. AIFF or WAV sound 357K/33 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Gay rights

"I am tired of marching and I'm mad because we should not have to be here," Jean said. "In the country that is supposed to be the freest on Earth, we are still having to march. We are still having to fight for the most basic of protections that every single one of our straight brothers and sisters take for granted."

The marchers included comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her partner, actress Anne Heche, as well as tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

This was the first march on the Mall for gay rights since 1993. Previous rallies took place in 1987 and 1979.

Pre-rally activities began Saturday with the unveiling of new patches for the AIDS Memorial Quilt and a youth rally.

Also Saturday, more than 3,000 couples gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for a same-sex marriage ceremony. The Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, officiated. Speakers at the event stressed the need for the law to recognize same sex marriages.

"This is not about special rights, it's about equality," tennis star Martina Navratilova said on Sunday. "If I marry a woman, how does that affect anyone else?"

"I think it's really important that America sees that there are many voices to the gay and lesbian community," said Eileen McClay of Fort Lauderdale, Florida "We are your neighbors, daughters, teachers, government workers. We simply want equal rights within our country."

"It's a human rights issue, it's just about people being treated fairly in terms of legislative issues. I just think that there's too much hatred and we have to stand up against that," said Mark Halacy from New York.

Some march participants said they think there has been some progress toward equal rights for gays and lesbians.

"I definitely feel we're moving forward," said singer- songwriter Melissa Etheridge. "There's a lot more understanding...there's less fear and we're working on there being less hatred."

The executive director of the Millennium March said in an interview that a push for strong hate crime laws in every state is a top legislative priority for gays and lesbians.

Dianne Hardy Garcia said the year 2000 provided the first real opportunity for gays to show their strength as a voting bloc. "Politicians are going to do the math and I think that will make us a powerful force to be reckoned with in November," she said.

Besides hate crime legislation, organizers proposed: equality in the workplace, linking racial and sexual justice, equal rights for parenting and marriage, the right to serve openly in the military, privacy laws, access to quality health care and more research dollars, and increased education and support for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Correspondent Kate Snow and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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