AN OPEN LETTER TO THE "LEADERSHIP" OF THE LGBT MOVEMENT

It's time for you to justify your existence. For far too long, you have asked us to open our wallets and those of our families and our friends to fund your folly. I say, no more.

The LGBT community ATM is closed. You cannot willfully spend tens of millions of this community's dollars without having to remain accountable for your expenditures. With such great investment, we demand results - greater than those that have been given us by you in the past. You can't point to the slim loss of Prop 8 and tell us that it's "progress" over the 2000 Prop 22 fiasco. The fact is that Prop 8 meant a lot more and cost exponentially more.

If this were a traditional investment, you would all be removed by your respective boards of directors, and short of that your boards would be voted out by we, the stakeholders. Quite frankly, most of you should voluntarily recuse yourselves from spending another dime of this community's dollars on anything related to the repeal of Prop 8. You should rise above your hubris and recognize that this is bigger than you, and that perhaps there is someone or a group of someones who are better equipped to handle the next campaign. Because this isn't about your vanity; this is about our right to be recognized as equals under the law.

It's time for new ideas and a new direction, and unfortunately, many of you "lifers" at our national LGBT organizations are no longer equipped to lead. Personally, I question your commitments in the face of the massive Prop 8 debacle.

While it's easy and convenient to turn the community's anger on the California Supreme Court, the simple fact is that the Court interprets the laws - it does not legislate. Further, directing anger away from you who are supposed to be the caretakers of this movement only serves to deflect responsibility and culpability.

Take responsibility for your shortcomings and let's move forward with new ideas and renewed passion. Your outdated ideas are no longer relevant. Do what is right for the greater good and step aside.