LGBT POV

HONOR PAC impacts East LA
By Luis Lopez

Looking back at Election Day 2008, I recall a mish-mash of mostly bittersweet memories.  And I don’t refer to – as many do –the historic election of President Obama even as the LGBT community in California suffered the crushing defeat of Proposition 8.  I refer to my work with HONOR PAC, as my colleagues and I,  joined by hundreds of volunteers set up a renegade campaign office in East Los Angeles to do our part. I recall the littlest of breakthroughs with individual voters and the anxiety and frustration of simply not being able to do enough.

Situated a block away from the E. Los Angeles Marriage License office, we had many couples who called us for information on where to get married.  After getting married, many of these couples came back and became our best volunteers. Many worked long hard hours.  There was also incredible camaraderie and a wonderful sprit of love in that campaign office.

So much so that our campaign manager, Bridgett Gonzales, decided that our campaign office was the place to get married, amid yard signs and phone banking volunteers. This week, on Nov 3, 2009, Bridgett Gonzales and Elena Popp will celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary and their 16-year relationship.

The East L.A. campaign office served as the Eastern County base for the No-on-8 campaign. We coordinated distribution of campaign materials and volunteers that supported visibility actions in areas including Alhambra, Whittier, Monterey Park and East Los Angeles.

HONOR PAC called on community and elected leaders for a series of press conferences and voter outreach efforts, drawing such important people as farm worker activist Dolores Huerta, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia, then-candidate to the 46th Assembly District, John Perez, and then-congresswoman, now-Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis and host of other leaders.  HONOR PAC also tapped its network of experienced campaign volunteers.

By Election Day, we had over 300 volunteers engaged in phone banking and other visibility actions. Over 100 volunteers dedicated their day to targeted polling locations in high density Latino areas. We reached thousands of voters.

The defeat was nothing less than crushing. But in the end, we know we did what we could to help the campaign and we learned a lot about our community.  It was gratifying to tap the depth of support of so many LGBT Latinos and their families and friends who live in the eastern and southern parts of Los Angeles County.  At the same time, we learned – and are humbled by – the vast amount of work that still needs to be done. Clearly, we need to increase awareness and the comfort levels in talking about LGBT issues and marriage equality for our community.

But we also know that many in our community acknowledge a common struggle towards civil rights between LGBT Latina/os and our non-LGBT Latino counterparts, whether the fight is for education, employment, housing, immigration and, yes, marriage rights. For as long as it takes, we will continue to work together to secure our American Dream for ourselves and generations yet to come.

Here’s a video of Christine Chavez at a press conference at HONOR PAC: