Do heterosexuals have a role in the battle for gay rights?

(An interesting interview from Newsweek/MSNBC)

<snip>

But when it comes to the conflict over gay marriage and other issues, most people aren’t more involved than having an opinion. Husband and wife Ian Ayres and Jennifer Gerarda Brown, both law professors, hope to change that--at least among those who agree with their point of view. In their new book, “Straightforward: How to Mobilize Heterosexual Support for Gay Rights,” the couple suggests ways that heterosexual allies can support lesbians and gay men. NEWSWEEK’s Kathryn Williams recently spoke with the duo about their ideas. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How would you characterize the current political climate toward gay men and lesbians in the United States?
Jennifer Gerarda Brown: We certainly, in the fall of 2004, saw the expression of some pretty strong anti-gay sentiment in the form of those 11 state amendments . On the other hand, polling shows very high levels of support for equal employment rights for gay people and some discrimination protections for them.
Ian Ayres: We think that particularly the time is right to push forward for employment equality. We got employment equality on the books with regard to African-Americans before we got marriage equality.

What lessons can gay-rights activists take from the movement for racial equality?
Ayres: There are a lot of people who wouldn’t consider joining an all-white county club or drinking from an all-whites water fountain, but they are willing to marry when their gay and lesbian friends cannot marry, or to join a club that does not accept gay members, such as the Boy Scouts. Just making the analogy sometimes changes their behavior.
Brown: Non-gay people need to become more active, just as white people were active in the civil-rights movement and men were active in the women’s movement of the 1970s.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8667917/site/newsweek/

but these are strange times -- not particularly generous if it isn't right in your own backyard.

if there was a good movement among parents{of glbtq children} the whole country over for marriage equality -- that would help alot.

Can stop other hets throwing rocks at my transgender friends.

Hets can come down on other hets for their hate,slurs and stigmas they do.Hets can step into a gay bashing and stop the perp or call for help if the gay is overwhelmed and they witness a crime.They can observe the bigots around them and intervene..instead of by stand.

Hets can give money or volunteer to help gay rights groups, they can protect their gay relatives, from bad landlords bad churches etc.
Straight social workers ,nurses.physical doctors,realtors,shrinks ,or other professions etc.could offer help to gays that might face stigmas in obtaining services by advertising their gay friendliness openly.Like a triangle on an ad or business card maybe.
They could talk to homophobic or fundie parents they know out of putting their kids into"reparative" therapy.. if they find out before they are putin treatment.
If they are a teacher they could talk to gay kids off the record,and help them get information when it's not school hours.

Het parents could open their hearts to their own gay trans children and quit treating their kids like their property or possessions as if they have a right to tell them who they must be or else.Hets could get together and confront homophobia in their hometown as a show of support and do neighborhood bigot watches.
Hets in churches who see homophobia rear it's head in church could encourage a turn away from homophobia manifesting in vicious forms of fundamentalism and denounce homophobic preachers instead of stilling there taking it as if he is speaking truth.Open the can of worms and shame the preacher for his sick attitudes.Be intolerant of bigots and stigmas..

What two consenting adults do with their private lives is none of my business. I am a devout heterosexual(a couple of women say too much so, but thats another story for another time), and subscribe to the theory of live and let live. I must confess, however, it took me a while to get to this point concerning homosexuals. I guess maybe I grew up and saw the light. Anyway, that doesn't matter in this discussion. What matters is that yes, we heterosexuals should get involved because homosexuals are human beings just like anyone else. I always ask the question, "if you were lying there bleeding to death and had a rare blood type, would you accept blood transplant from a known homosexual if the aforementioned blood is clean and a match?" Rarely does anyone answer no. Those who do are beyond my comprehension and will not change anyway, so screw 'em. I realize that may sound callous, but I can't help it. I'm tired of dealing with all the crap.

My position as I have stated it to the people I am working with is that I will do whatever needs being done. I am a little uncomfortable on the state wide steering committee simply because I feel I should be no where close to the decisions being made. I feel like I am best suited in a supporting role as a hetero but I will do whatever needs done. The group seems to think what I do is important but I am always hesitant to direct the roles we need to take.

Does that make any sense? I think every group needs its advocates but I know I would hesitate to belong to a woman's group that was run by males.

I won't let my sons join the Boy Scouts. And when asked, we always tell people WHY - discrimination!

I was a leader and when I learned about that I pulled them out and quit.

... to bring "straight allies" to the battle for gay rights. I think it was easier for whites to come out for Civil Rights for blacks than it has been for straights to come out for gay rights because however liberal someone might be, "black" doesn't rub off. Conversely, during the early struggle for gay rights, many straights were supportive, but reluctant to get involved because they feared that they might be preceived as gay. I know it sounds silly now, but since that time a shift in the way LGBT folks are viewed has taken place. Other than among the fundies, homosexuality is no longer considered a "disease" you can catch by associating with "those people."

deeply enough involved in our rights for them to actually help us out. It took Emmit Till, the Birmingham Church bombing, Bull Connor's dogs, the murders of Cheney, Goodman, and Swartz, and the murder of the lady from Detroit to get whites off their rear ends.

For us it is going to be our coming out to our families and friends, sadly more Matthew Shepards, and maybe even more Rudolphs bombing our bars and nightclubs. I know what this sounds like but I honestly don't see the great heterosexual majority coming to our aid without it being rubbed into their faces.

One of the boards I sit on is getting ready to nominate new members. One of the requests was to look for more gay people. Our board is over half heteros. So in at least some places that has changed. I hope that is encouraging.