• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Film/TV/Stream
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox

John Lewis’s Motorcade Makes Poignant Stop Amid Rainbow Crosswalks in Atlanta to Honor His Allyship with LGBTQ Community: WATCH

Andy Towle July 29, 2020 Leave a Comment

John Lewis

The body of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) arrived in Atlanta to lie in state at the Georgia State Capitol. As the civil rights icon’s hearse made its way through the city, it made several stops at notable sites, including the rainbow crosswalk at 10th Street and Piedmont to pay tribute to Lewis’s allyship with the LGBTQ community and vocal support throughout his political career for its rights.

At 12:00 in the first video below.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution examined Lewis’s early and staunch support for gay rights: “Lewis supported same-sex marriage in the early 2000s, years before many fellow African Americans and Democrats embraced the issue, and more than a decade prior to the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing the unions. Lewis compared the struggle for the equal treatment of LGBTQ people to his work on the front lines of the civil rights movement in an October 2003 Boston Globe editorial.”

Wrote Lewis in that editorial: “We cannot keep turning our backs on gay and lesbian Americans. I have fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I’ve heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred, and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.”

“Some say let’s choose another route and give gay folks some legal rights but call it something other than marriage,” Lewis continued. “We have been down that road before in this country. Separate is not equal. The rights to liberty and happiness belong to each of us and on the same terms, without regard to either skin color or sexual orientation. Some say they are uncomfortable with the thought of gays and lesbians marrying. But our rights as Americans do not depend on the approval of others. Our rights depend on us being Americans.”

Read his full editorial HERE.

The AJC notes that Lewis lobbied for the Human Rights Campaign during the ’90s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ era, and was one of two Georgia lawmakers who refused to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Lewis also stood out against Georgia’s ban on gay adoption.

Topics: Politics, Supreme Court, towleroad More Posts About: Atlanta, Deaths, Georgia, John Lewis, Rainbow Crosswalk

Related Posts
  • Viral video, opinions challenge Georgia jury selection for Arbery case
  • Veteran Atlanta Activist Becomes First Black Trans Woman Ever Named to Presidential HIV/AIDS Council
  • Ed Buck, Apex Meth Predator, Convicted in Serial Deaths by Overdose of Young, Black Gay Men; Will Get Minimum 40 Years in Prison
  • As ‘don’t say gay’ law takes effect in Florida, confusion reigns over classroom rules

    As ‘don’t say gay’ law takes effect in Florida, confusion reigns over classroom rules

    Published by Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. — The new Florida law dubbed “don’t say gay” by its critics kicked in Friday, banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in primary grades — and creating fears …Read More »
  • What charges might Trump face for trying to overturn 2020 election?

    What charges might Trump face for trying to overturn 2020 election?

    Published by Reuters (Corrects paragraph 15 to attribute testimony about Trump throwing a plate to Cassidy Hutchinson, not Kayleigh McEnaney; corrects name of judge in paragraph two to David Carter, not Andrew Carter) By Luc Cohen …Read More »
  • Kenny Goss: I didn’t want to be Mrs George Michael

    Kenny Goss: I didn’t want to be Mrs George Michael

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Kenny Goss didn’t want to be “Mrs George Michael”. The 63-year-old businessman had a 13-year relationship with the pop icon – who died on Christmas Day in 2016, aged 53 – …Read More »
  • Adele feels ‘mortified’ over Las Vegas residency

    Adele feels ‘mortified’ over Las Vegas residency

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Adele finds the thought of letting down her fans to be “mortifying”. The 34-year-old singer feels she failed her fans by postponing her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas earlier …Read More »
Previous Post: « Mackenzie Bezos, ‘Pose’, Vincent Van Gogh, Melanie C, Gess, Armie Hammer, Thao Nguyen, Naomi Campbell: HOT LINKS
Next Post: Gohmert Says He’ll Take Hydroxychloroquine To Treat COVID-19: ‘My Doctor And I Are All In’ (WATCH) »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Lindsay Lohan marries financier Bader Shammas

    Lindsay Lohan marries financier Bader Shammas

  • Horseshoe crabs: ‘Living fossils’ vital for vaccine safety

    Horseshoe crabs: ‘Living fossils’ vital for vaccine safety

  • ‘A Disgusting Sight In Any Case’: Vladimir Putin Fires Back After G7 Leaders Joke About His Infamous Horse-Riding Picture

    ‘A Disgusting Sight In Any Case’: Vladimir Putin Fires Back After G7 Leaders Joke About His Infamous Horse-Riding Picture

RSS Partner Links

  • Sunday Comics
  • Speedo Sunday
  • Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, & More Stars Check Out Adele's Hyde Park Performance in London!
  • Cynthia Erivo Comes Out As Bisexual
  • Naomie Harris Criticizes 'Disturbing' Amount of Media Coverage Johnny Depp & Amber Heard's Trial Received
  • Travis Scott's First Festival Since Astroworld Tragedy Gets Canceled
  • Bret Michaels Breaks Silence on Hospitalization, Shares New Details About Health Condition

Most Recent

  • New York moves to enshrine abortion rights in state constitution

    New York moves to enshrine abortion rights in state constitution

  • As ‘don’t say gay’ law takes effect in Florida, confusion reigns over classroom rules

    As ‘don’t say gay’ law takes effect in Florida, confusion reigns over classroom rules

  • What charges might Trump face for trying to overturn 2020 election?

    What charges might Trump face for trying to overturn 2020 election?

  • Kenny Goss: I didn’t want to be Mrs George Michael

    Kenny Goss: I didn’t want to be Mrs George Michael

  • Adele feels ‘mortified’ over Las Vegas residency

    Adele feels ‘mortified’ over Las Vegas residency

  • Biden predicts states will try to arrest women who travel for abortions

    Biden predicts states will try to arrest women who travel for abortions

  • Elliot Page signs up for his ‘first ever dating app’

    Elliot Page signs up for his ‘first ever dating app’

  • Mac Engel Column: WNBA player speaks honest truth about Brittney Griner: ‘If this was Shaq, he’d be home’

    Mac Engel Column: WNBA player speaks honest truth about Brittney Griner: ‘If this was Shaq, he’d be home’

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Copyright © 2022 · Log in