LGBT Community Centers Promote Equality
By Katherine Palmer
The necessity for LGBT community centers across New Mexico was never more evident than in the current legislative session. On February 26th, this year’s version of the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act (SB12) failed to pass the New Mexico State Senate by a vote of 25-17. This was a disappointing day for New Mexicans and a blow to all of us who care about fairness and equality. Even more disappointing, this was the third straight year we have failed to accomplish securing basic equal rights for members of the LGBT community and others who would have benefited from this bill securing equality becoming law.

People will give you reasons why this important legislation continues to fail every year. They include – it’s not needed (You can obtain the rights included in the bill already by going to a lawyer), it is limited (It will only be effective in New Mexico and there are still inequities at the federal level) and it will destroy the family and the sanctity of marriage. However, the real and fundamental reason this bill does not become law is because the opposing forces continue to pressure their legislators to vote against it. Despite the lack of rational arguments, they succeed because of their organizational structure across the state.

An analysis of the Senate vote on SB12 shows that 19 of the 25 “No” votes and only 4 of the 17 “Yes votes came from areas outside Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces. In these rural locations the opposition came from organized religion, at every level, who contacted their representatives and demanded they vote “No“. Despite efforts by Equality New Mexico and national groups like the ACLU and HRC, our LGBT community was not able to match their efforts.

The reason for their success is simple. In every rural location, they meet daily/weekly in physical locations (churches). They share a common bond and have common goals which are reinforced on a regular basis. They form a defined community dedicated and focused on their common welfare. Politically, they have the ability to utilize their resources and mobilize their constituency because they know them and interact personally.

The tragedy is that the LGBT community has no community. While there may be organizations and events in the major cities like Albuquerque, the only time our community comes together is at PRIDE celebrations held in major cities within the state. Although these events show solidarity, they do not create commitment. Regrettably, our attendance at the Roundhouse during the legislative session is limited primarily to residents of Albuquerque and Santa Fe and it‘s too few and too late.

LGBT community centers provide the setting to bring us together. The power to change hearts and minds is in the voice of local individuals and community centers have always played an active role in uniting those voices for change. Centers bring together more LGBT people on a daily basis than any other organization and have the potential to be the voice that legislator’s hear on issues facing our community. Within our centers, in every town in New Mexico, we can work together on the issues important to our community and plan how to achieve them. We can form defined communities dedicated and focused on our common welfare. By sharing what is happening and working together, we have the ability to mobilize our constituency because we know and interact with them.

Politically, we could focus on the legislators within our centers district to let them know we are here and these are the issues we want them to support. LGBT community centers in states like Colorado, Florida and New York have had success in political activism. Let’s add New Mexico and have the members of every LGBT community center continuing the fight for fairness and legal protections for all New Mexico families.